#everything about this moment really. Thanks Kia!

[royalarchivist]

Pac: Are you saying this about your roommate, Jotinha? You guys are roommates, you know that, right?

JV: Yeah, we just don't have any rooms in the house.

Pac: But you're roommates, and that's a very strong thing. I had a roommate in the past.

JV: What happened?

Pac: He died. He died.

[badolmen]

I wish we got more moments of the Walkers being Family like. The opening of “Brave New World” where Hesh says he let Logan sleep a bit longer because he figured he could use the rest set the bar too high for the rest of the campaign. You don’t really get anything like that line again - there’s the “Sin City” and “The Ghost Killer” cutscenes as well but those are both high tension, ‘holy shit don’t hurt my brother/I am dying son but I’m proud of you’ lines. And honestly Hesh’s “All or Nothing” Rorke File where he talks about his misplaced guilt after losing Elias…it’s almost a bit weird that he doesn’t reference how Logan is handling it at all (especially considering he was the one manhandled into shooting their father).

I guess the first unlockable Rorke File where Elias talks about taking the boys to the beach counts, and Hesh’s “Logan’s got my back, and I got his. He’s my brother.” but it just feels a bit stilted compared to the natural tenderness of the “Brave New World” opening.

[strwberri-milk]

the moment he realises you love him, despite everything (/ everyone) advising you against it? with childe, kaeya, alhaitham, and dainsleif if you can?? hope you're having a wonderful day<33

Childe wasn't expecting for you to want more than just something casual with him. The two of you were friends and that's all he thought he was willing to offer until you confessed your feelings for him and he decided to take a risk and say yes.

You made him happier than he thought someone could, knowing that he didn't exactly have a normal life but you never minded and loved him in spite of it. He knows that your friends are concerned for you, telling you that maybe you should find someone else to be with that won't be risking his life every time he goes outside and honestly, a part of him agrees. He loves you enough to know that he'd hate to see you sad because he was mia/kia but a more selfish part of him wants you to stay.

He overhears you telling them that none of that matters to you one day. You asked him to come meet you after you were hanging out with your friends and he happened to arrive a little early, handing off to the side as you tell them none of that matters to you and that you know he'd never do anything to hurt you on purpose. Your friends seem a little skeptical but you simply roll your eyes, looking for him and grinning when you see him standing there.

You ask him why he's holding you tightly, no malice in your voice and are promptly kept quiet with the press of his lips against yours. He doesn't say much before the two of you walk off, quietly replaying your interaction with your friends in his head and thanking you for loving him.

Kaeya knows that there are lots of rumors about him that fly around and he never lets them bother him because he knows that most of the time they aren't true. Some things are exaggerated from fact but ultimately, it's not the end of the world to him what people seem to think of him.

The only time it matters to him is when he's thinking about what you think of him. You've told him time and time again that you love him and that nothing anybody says could ever change your mind but he can't help but hesitate every once in a while. He wonders if there really is nothing he could do to change your mind but he doesn't want to test that either.

One day he asks you point blank if you really want to stay with him. He started hearing a lot more today for some reason and some of the comments were beginning to crawl under his skin. You reassure him again that there's nothing he could do that would change your mind, holding his face and kissing his forehead. You can't help but laugh a little at the fact that he looks like a kicked puppy, crawling into his lap to continue to give him some more reassurances.

It takes a while but when you're cuddled up in bed with his head on your chest you know that you've quelled his anxieties for now. Kaeya's favourite place to be is always in your arms, holding you tightly as he allows his walls to all come down so he can bathe in the warmth of your love.

Al Haitham doesn't ever mind what people say about him. He knows opinions are just opinions and they're not always based in fact so whatever people say about him is simply not important. You know he's also very secure in his self image so you've never felt the need to reassure him or worry about him being insecure.

Sometimes, you tell him what people are saying about him. Even though he doesn't care he can't help but be curious on occasion. He knows that objectively, being told that he probably doesn't care much for his partner and is only focused on his research.

You tell him you know that it's not true and he nods absently, running the words over and trying to think if there really is something that he should be doing something about it. When he looks up and sees you've left he tries to find you, seeing that you've simply gone to do whatever you normally would with your evening at home with him.

He's surprised you've managed to read his mind, feeling you put your hand on his chest and reminding him again that you know it's not true. You know he loves you and you love him, even if he doesn't like to say it much. You begin to add on all of the things that he's done for you to confirm his affections for you, Al Haitham giving you a soft smile as he realises he does show a side of himself that only you're allowed to see.

Dainsleif thought it was unfair of you to be constantly waiting for him to come visit you for just a few days before disappearing again, knowing that his lurking around the city at night lends him the ability to hear rumors that he normally wouldn't be able to hear.

He also knows that your friends hate him, some doubtful he even exists and the others telling you you deserve to be with someone who actually seems to want to be around you. Sometimes he tries to broach the subject himself, finding himself at the receiving end of you rolling your eyes and telling him that none of the bothers you. You knew what you were in for and you're not going to get mad at him for doing exactly what he warned you he would be doing.

One day he slips into your house unnoticed. He knows that you should be asleep and he doesn't want to wake you up by accident. Upon slipping into your room he sees a bundle of papers, recognising the one on top as the most recent letter he's written to you.

He realises that the entire stack is just all the letters he's written to you, smiling to himself as he sees just how carefully you've preserved all of his letters. He hears you shifting around on your bed, turning to face him as you call out his name as a question, responding to you in a voice just as soft as he gives you a hug and kiss to greet you.

[daydreamerwoah]

His Return

Six months.

For some people, six months could pass by in a blink of an eye. One day it was a sunny spring afternoon, the next fall had come all too quickly. But for you... six months had passed by extremely slow; agonizing; depressive.

It wasn't fair. Everyone's lives seemed to continue with no care in the world, while the air was being sucked out of your lungs... yet the last breath never came.

Day and night you constantly replayed the moment you lunged into John Price and Kate Laswell's arms; screaming in such pain for them telling you that your boyfriend was gone; KIA. At first, you didn't believe them. Simon dead? It had to be a joke.... He always came back to you. Always. Soap and Gaz tried to comfort you as well, but you screamed and dropped to your knees crying out so hard you felt like your heart was tearing out of your chest. But later that night, a truthful punch to the gut from Laswell's mouth about what happened was all it took to realize that Simon wasn't coming home. His medal dog tags placed in your hand as you tried your best not to break down for the third time that day.

In those six months Price, Laswell, Soap, and Gaz checked on you more than you could count. If it wasn't Laswell calling you weekly, then it was Gaz and Soap bringing you flowers, and Price making sure you got out the house... even if it was for a walk. They saw the signs; the fast decent into depression you had in the first month. You wouldn't eat unless they begged you. You wouldn't shower for days, letting the apartment crumble to an embarrassing mess.

Even when you slowly felt better, it was still hard to go on about your life. Your coworkers at the firm kept their distance from you, not wanting to offend you by saying how sorry they were or getting you flowers daily; you were tired of putting on a smile and saying 'thank you' or 'you'd be alright'.

When Price called you one Saturday morning and asked you to come to his office on the military base, you rolled your eyes. You were tired of them doting over you... you wanted everyone to let you grieve alone. But you didn't want to be rude; Simon's death was hard on them as much as it was for you. So there you sat in the chair opposite of Price in his office. You were confused as to why Laswell, Soap, and Gaz were there as well, but took it as they probably were about to suggest you go to therapy. The thought made a cringy feeling in your stomach.

"Thanks for coming Y/n," Price started. He fidgeted in his seat as he looked at Laswell then back to you.

She seemed to get the idea that he wanted her to say something, "Y/n..... I know these six months have been very hard on you. On all of us. But everything we do is for a reason..."

Your eyebrows drew together, confused about what she even meant by that. She sighed and glanced at Price, silently asking for help to continue the conversation.

He cleared his throat, nervously scratching his throat with his gloved thumb, "Six months ago, on our mission, Simon was-"

"Why are you bringing this up again?" You spat. You didn't mean to. But you really didn't want to hear the story all over again.

"Y/n," Laswell calmly said, "Please?"

You pinched the bridge of your nose and sighed before nodding for them to continue.

"Simon was badly injured. The terrorist we were after knew a lot of information. More information about us than we suspected he knew..... Because of this, we needed to throw him off."

A long pause echoed through the room, as you looked at Price.

"We had to lie to keep Simon protected." Laswell chimed in.

What the fuck were they talking about?

While your attention was on Laswell, you hadn't realized that Price gave a curt nod to Gaz to open his office door. Your head whipped around as a tall, burly figure walked in. A skull-printed balaclava donned his face, the usual dark uniform covered his body, but you instantly knew.

Simon.

You leaped out of your chair and slowly backed up to the wall next to you. It couldn't be.

"Sweetheart," he said, slowly walking toward you.

You knew that voice. You could still hear it in your sleep when you dreamed about him. You heard it when you constantly listened to the simple voicemails he had left you whenever you missed his calls. Yet it didn't feel real that he was standing there in your presence.

"N-no...." you shook your head, "You-you....." you held your hand out for him to stop moving toward you. He paused, sadly looking at your terrified face; eyes wide, mouth slightly open. "No no no-"

"It's me sweetheart," he said before pulling off his balaclava.

Your bottom lip quivered as tears prickled your eyes. It was him. Standing there in the flesh. "S-Simon?" you dropped your hand to your side.

He closed the distance between you, and the moment his hand reached out to touch you, you flung your arms around his waist. Head buried into his chest, you let out the loudest sob as he wrapped his warm arms tightly around you.

"Shhh.. it's okay love. I'm here now." he quietly said.

The small smiles on the other faces in the room made the atmosphere in the office warmer; brighter even. It was a difficult but necessary choice they all agreed to. Simon's life - including yours - was in danger, and he made them go through with the plan. Only when the threat was eliminated did he decide that he would return to you.

@whataneed @romanceloverrrr

[whumpbug]

hi bug!

for your boys, just a thought: a moment where archie has to patch simon up. role reversal. like if simon tried to protect his boy and got himself hurt, and now he has to talk archie through patching him up.....

your boys are so lovely. i can't wait to see them get whumped to bits in the event!!!

- @whump-kia

kia this was genuinely such a blast to write that it ended up a tad longer than i originally planned for, thank you SO much for the prompt (˃ᆺ˂) i hope u like it as much as i loved writing it because these boys are SILLY.

to anyone else: see this post for character info!

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

There was a rumor circulating that there was an “inconspicuous medical student” spotted “aiding the activities of a notorious vigilante” in the city, and it was safe to say the crime lords and such were not happy about it.

The rumors were true, of course, but it didn’t make them any easier to deal with.

And Simon was currently dealing with them.

He should have known his extremely selfless and abundantly kind nature towards Archie would come back to bite him in the ass.

He’d be sure to rub it in Archie’s face when he saw him again.

“You’re the kid that’s been helping that little punk, aren’t you?” The man spat in Simon’s face as he shoved him up against the wall.

Judging by the way he was dressed and the way he smelled, Simon had half a mind to assume he was a goon from the drug ring Archie had been after for some time now.

Fortunately, the guy clearly wasn’t the brightest. No experienced lackey would start heckling a target in the middle of an open alley way without checking if anyone was around first.

Unfortunately, the guy was quite a bit stronger than Simon and there really wasn’t anyone around after all.

Just my luck.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Simon spewed back, struggling against the man’s grasp.

The man’s hand tightened around Simon’s neck and the gravity of the situation began to sink in.

He was alone in this alley. Sure, he had used the emergency button on his watch that sent signal to Archie as soon as he recognized he was in danger, but it had been a good amount of time and Archie was.. nowhere to be found.

“Don’t play dumb with me!” The man shouted, sending a knee slamming into Simon’s gut. “You’re going to tell me everything you know!” Another knee to his middle sent him stumbling back and doubling over.

“I don’t.. don’t know anything..” Simon sputtered, coughing harshly and tasting metal.

Simon knew he was in hot water. He had no combat training, so self defense skills, and despite being decently fit, he was no where near the league of a guy who beat people up for a living. He needed to get out of there as fast as possible.

Alright Simon, c'mon. Focus. You can handle this. Just think.

Before Simon could form another coherent thought, a fist connected with his face that sent him reeling. Blood began leaking from his nose all down his mouth, and he choked on the taste. Before he could recover, his whole body was rammed against the brick wall and his arm was pulled awkwardly behind him. 

The punch had left him dazed, so dazed that he didn’t recognize the sound of two other guys approaching the scene.

“For god’s sake, don’t kill the kid! Rough him up, get some information, but don’t kill him. We'll have more use for him later,” A deeper voice chided.

Simon heard vague mutters of obedience before he felt his arm being strained again.

“Alright kid, since I’m feeling so nice, I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself. Answer the question and you’ll be on your way,” The man sneered. Simon could hear muffled snickers behind him, but couldn’t quite get the angle to look. “What is the little punk’s real name.”

He knew he should be sizing up the scene and determining the best course of action, but goddamn his arm hurt. He could feel every tendon being strained at the orientation the man had it at.

Still, no matter what, he wasn’t going to sell out Archie. Archie would come. He always did.

“N-No idea,” Simon spat, stomping on the man’s toe in an attempt to buck out of the hold.

Unfortunately, the man was still significantly stronger than Simon, so his attempt at retaliation only served in angering him further.

“You little—“ The man growled, before twisting Simon's arm and yanking it fully out of its socket.

Simon let out a stuttering wail as the pain temporarily blinded him. Suddenly, his head was being slammed against the wall again and he couldn’t figure out what was hurting more now: his head, his arm, or his stomach.

He was almost sure he was done for, until he heard a familiar shout and the sound of a fist connecting with a face.

Took him long enough.

Simon let himself slide down the wall once the man was pulled off of him, cradling his aching shoulder as he watched. Through hazy vision, he saw Archie made quick work of the lackeys. It was a flurry of hollers and yelps and limbs flying, but eventually, Archie emerged unscathed and rushed right over to Simon.

“I’m so sorry I was late! I was working, and I didn’t see the alert and— oh god, your arm!” He blurted, hands awkwardly hovering over Simon, a complete contrast to the ruthless machine he had been not a few seconds earlier.

Simon wanted to be mad, he really did. The emergency alert was there for a reason, after all. But how could he stay angry when Archie was looking at him with such sincere concern and regret. Simon sighed.

“It’s not as bad as it looks.. it’s dislocated, but I’m pretty sure it’s not broken so we won’t need to go to the hospital,” Simon explained.

Archie gave a small huff of relief.

“You do, however, need to help me pop it back into place.”

Archie blanched.

“Pop it back into place?! Isn’t that dangerous?! I don’t know what I’m doing!” He babbled.

“Relax, I’ll walk you through it. It’s not that hard. You just have to kinda.. push it until it feels right. I’ll let you know,” Simon replied, absurdly calm for the situation at hand.

“..Ok..” 

Simon carefully instructed Archie on where to place his hands and where to push in, and after a bit more coaxing, they were ready.

“Alright. Don’t give me a countdown. You have to just do it, or else I might tense up involuntarily and that could— URGH!”

A sickening snap reverberated from Simon’s offending limb.

“Sorry! I’m sorry! You said not to give you a countdown!” Archie mewled, pulling his hands away as if he’d just been burned.

“It’s fine.. it’s.. I’m good.. you did good,” Simon placated, squeezing his eyes shut at the lingering pain.

“Okay.. okay, that’s done. We should get you back to your apartment and patched up.. that black eye looks.. pretty rough..”

“Don’t I know it..”

Archie tenderly helped Simon to his feet, and supported the taller’s man weight with ease.

“Thanks for not, uh, selling me out by the way..” Archie murmured, as they began their arduous journey back to Simon’s home.

“Well, what type of ‘inconspicuous medical student’ would I be if I just went around telling everyone how I ‘aid the activities of a notorious vigilante’?” 

“...You’re an idiot.”

Simon grinned. Yep. All worth it.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

[bearsgrove]

🌿🌿 MUTUAL CATCH UP 🌿🌿

i was tagged by @rolangf thank u!! :^)

LAST SONG: easy way out by low roar. had a bit of a low roar moment. evening. night. swimming in the vibes

CURRENTLY WATCHING: started watching better call saul a few days ago. its alright so far but i do like breaking bad more. idk what is everyone on about when they say bcs is better. i mean im not even done with the 1st season yet so maybe it will pick up but so far i dont see it. that being said i dont think its bad im really enjoying it but yeah

THREE SHIPS: i really really hate the word ships/shipping. in 2024? please let this die already lets all leave it in 2010s tumblr. for the love of god. im sick of shipping and the whole culture around it and all the associations. rant over. i cant really think of any actual pairings rn other than just. fenris and anders and morrigan romances from dragon ages. obviously i like my own characters with their respective partners but i dont "ship" them. they just Exist.

FAVORITE COLOR: pine green

CURRENTLY CONSUMING: not much. wish i was. things are just kinda. numb and empty. hmm

FIRST SHIP: cant remember my memory only goes back around 2 days everything beyond that is void

PLACE OF BIRTH: central/eastern europe. sl*v*kia

CURRENT LOCATION: yep. still here. sadly unfortunately tragically

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: hah. as of a few months ago, single :))) life is a bitch. and im guessing its gonna stay that way for a bit because im fucking sick of relationships

LAST MOVIE: forced my friends to watch spirited away with me a few hours ago lol

CURRENTLY WORKING ON: i have a commission wip and one traditional acrylics wip. and i started putting together a battle jacket with hand-drawn patches (by me. i am drawing them 😔i cant afford cool etsy patches + shipping lol) and stuff for a metal festival im going to in june so thats slowly coming along

no pressure of course and i hope its alright to tag some of u but i tag:

🪲 @gwynbleidd 🪲 @elvves 🪲 @eternalergo 🪲 @minicactpot 🪲 @princilly 🪲 @famewolf 🪲 @sylkana 🪲 @vampcleric 🪲 @sealacrossthesea 🪲

[blackbird-brewster]

Hi friend! I’m wondering about the process you took to be able to stay in New Zealand because it’s been a dream of mine to move there but it seems really daunting 😭 thank you in advance!

Kia ora e hoa!

Oof, my story is a long and complicated one for sure. Moving countries (no matter where you're heading) is a HUGE choice and no matter how much you prepare, there will always be a learning curve. For me, however, I didn't prepare at all. Not really. That being said, NZ does have A LOT of hoops to jump through and they're REALLY particular about who gets visas (even more so since the pandemic).

But here's my story:

2015: I had visited NZ for a handful of days in 2015 and then shortly after that trip, I happened to meet someone through tumblr who was a kiwi. We started a long-distance relationship from there.

Now, I need to note that I was homeless at that point of my life. I was living in my car, so everything I owned fit inside a compact Chevy Aveo. And when my car got repossessed and I said 'nothing left for me in [readacted]' and packed up those few belongings into two plastic tubs, bought a one way ticket, and flew to Aotearoa (The actual time between losing my car, to considering moving, to pouring all of my savings into airfare, to actually just up and leaving to start a new life across the world, was only about 2 weeks btw. Like I said, ZERO preperation.)

Early 2016: I first came on a 3-month visitor visa. Then I was able to get a partnership visa for a year. When that relationship ended, I had already decided Aotearoa was my forever home and I was ready to do anything necessary to stay here long-term.

2017: I managed another 1-year visa (working holiday visa).

Early 2018: Then by the time that one was ending, I was in a new relationship (with my current partner) but we hadn't been together long enough for them to sponsor me in a partnership visa.

Without any way to get another working visa, I was forced to plan a move to Australia for a year. I had sorted a working holiday visa there, had job prospects, and although I didn't want to leave NZ, I knew it was only a temporary stop over, because I would spend every moment in Aus trying to get back into NZ somehow.

Final days of my visa, 2018: I had already been thrown goodbye parties, I sold what little belongings I'd started to acquire in my two years here, I had my airfare and visa all ready for Aus -- but I was STILL desperately scouring the Immigration NZ website for ANY legal loopholes, any way I could just stay a while longer. And in doing so, I found exactly that. In absolute secret (didn't tell a single soul from fear of getting my hopes up) -- I applied for a nine-month visitor visa.

And to my utter shock -- it worked. I was able to stay.

2018/19: In those 9 months, I ended up moving in with Doom Them and by the time I was nearing the end of my visitor visa, we were able to apply for a partnership visa together. I was granted another one-year visa.

2019: We had to repeat the process. Submitting over 500 pages of documentation that our relationship was genuine, and even then, they still asked for more. Luckily, they eventually granted me another one year visa.

Early 2020: After living in NZ continuously for four years, you are eligible to apply for residency. Because I had a NZ partner, that definitely helped, because at the start of Covid INZ stopped accepting any other type of residency visa applications. I was SO lucky that we applied WAY early this time, because estimated wait times for visa processing were like 10-16 MONTHS

August 2020: I officially became a NZ Resident!!! Which meant I no longer had to apply for Visas. I was granted the privilege of living in NZ for the rest of my life without ever having to apply for visas that may not be granted. The annual stress and uncertainty we faced each time we applied was no more!

August 2022: After being a NZ Resident for 2 years, you can then apply to be a NZ Permanent Resident. That means you can leave and come back to NZ without any issues. It's basically citizenship without the passport.

So that's where I'm at currently! And in August 2025 (5 years after residency is first granted) -- I will finally get to become a NZ CITIZEN!!!! I cannot wait for the day this country becomes my place of citizenship.

It is a LONG and tedious process that requires a TON of work and stress and money (god so much fucking moneeeeyyyyyy) -- but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Because even though I first moved here for a relationship that didn't work out -- I still wound up finding my forever home, my friends, my family, and most importantly, I did find my forever relationship.

[absentcaryatid]

Love Takes Flight

An ATEEZ fanfic by AbsentCaryatid

The reader falls for Yunho when the idol uses their services as a pilot to regularly visit family back in Gwangju. With help from Wooyoung, the affection is finally revealed to be mutual.

2.8K words, Content note: gender neutral reader, suitable for all ages, reader is referred to by pronoun they, nonjudgmental mention of weight for fueling purposes, food

~

In later years you could laugh about accusing your future husband of being a smuggler the first time you talked, but in the moment, the misunderstanding was mortifying for both of you. Luckily, Yunho did not hold a grudge and everything went smoothly from then onward, other than that memorable concert of course.

He had called after discovering your advertisement for small scale cargo shipping between Seoul and Gwangju. “I'm having trouble finding someone to do what I need. I'm hoping I came to the right person. The matter is urgent and very important to me. I'll pay well.”

“Look sir, I don't know what you think I do, but I never get involved in anything illegal if that is what you are asking.” The tone was cold and firm. You did not have much, but you had pride in running a clean business despite the many lucrative opportunities you could have put your plane to.

Even through the phone Yunho's embarrassment at your assumption was evident. Between shocked gasps he spluttered out, “I would never. It is nothing like that.”

Cringing at how badly the discussion was going, you became very apologetic. “I should not have jumped to that conclusion so quickly, I just like to make things very clear because people do ask it of me sometimes.”

Yunho was kind about the mistake. “I understand, and appreciate your integrity. Phrasing things so oddly was my fault. I'm in a bind and not thinking well. I'm the cargo.” He went on to explain that he needed a flight back to his hometown. “When I have the time off I go by car, or can take the high-speed rail from Yongsan Station, but the schedule is too tight that day. Even the commercial flights from Gimpo Airport to Gwangju International won't get me there when I need to arrive.”

“This sounds serious. Business trip?” Your attention became focused on how extravagantly to charge the man for passenger service while you supposed his corporate jet was grounded for repair. Given the convenience of scheduled airline flights to Gwangju, nobody had ever asked your small business focused on freight to deliver them before, so you intended to make the most of the opportunity.

“My little brother is getting an award at a school function and I would like to be there. I have missed so much of his life due to my work and I really want to do this for him.”

Your heart went out to Yunho. With a reason like that, you easily agreed to help. “Give me your weight and I'll calculate the added gas expenditure at no markup. I was already headed to Gwangju that afternoon anyway and can easily shift the time to what you need.”

Yunho's sigh of relief was heavy. “Thank you a million times over. I'll owe you a lot for this, and maybe can do something for you one day, concert tickets or something like that.”

“Hmm, I'm not very into music, but I could always take my mother to a trot concert. Sports teams are more my thing. Big fan of Gwangju FC and Kia Tigers.”

“Football and baseball, looks like we will have a lot to talk about on the flight. I look forward to it.” With that, Yunho was gone and you practically forgot about him until the day of the unusual job.

Dressed handsomely in a suit and looking straight from the hairdresser, Yunho greeted you at the hangar with a respectful handshake. “Thank you again for being able to accommodate me. My dad wanted me to be a dentist, and sometimes I think I would have liked a career that let me live near family, but I wouldn't give up my job for the world.”

When he did not elaborate on his profession, you led Yunho to the secondhand twin-engine turboprop modified for carrying freight rather than passengers. “I'm usually hauling delicacies from Jeolla province to Seoul. I know you planned to take the high-speed rail tomorrow, though if you want to catch the return flight you are welcome to. No cost, but it is an early call. This run includes pastries one of my clients wants to wake up to and nobody makes them like her favorite shop in Gwangju. As long as they are willing to pay for that service, I am happy to provide since I enjoy spending as much time in the air as I can.”

Yunho accepted the terms. “I can handle waking early, no problem.”

“You will also need to wear a headset for noise and communicating through the microphone. It takes some getting used to, but it is necessary, I'm afraid.”

Perhaps Yunho was nervous, for he hid laughter behind a hand before answering. “Pretty sure I can work with that too.”

“The cargo area has some fold down seats. If you would prefer a bit more comfort and a view you can have the co-pilot seat.” Usually you had a preference for solitude in the cockpit, but you did not mind at all when Yunho agreed to join you. Even from the original phone call you had liked him, and meeting in person had only added to his appeal.

The flight went off without a hitch and after less than an hour the small plane landed in Gwangju. Time had gone quickly due to Yunho's ease at conversation covering for some of your own lesser social skills. You looked forward to the return trip, wondering if he would be as sociable at dawn.

With far more energy than your own, Yunho thoughtfully met you at the hangar the next morning with a coffee in each hand. That led you to bring out spare pastries because it would have been impossible for either of you to survive the trip otherwise with the fresh baked goods filling the plane with their enticing scent.

In flight he shared some photos from the night before. A proud looking Yunho was standing beside a young teen almost his own height, flanked by beaming parents with a touch of gray hair. There were also plenty of pictures from the award ceremony. Yunho's voice on its own was lovely, but to hear it filled with such pride in his scholastically accomplished brother made it even more attractive.

With Yunho's approval, you got into the habit of texting him whenever you were headed to his hometown. Taking advantage of the opportunity, sometimes he came along in the co-pilot seat to get more time in with family here and there. Over many round trip flights you could accurately say you became friends, bonding with Yunho over sports, video games, and the joy of browsing at Gwangju's Kumho World Electronics Market.

Sometimes Yunho would even sing scraps of songs, leaving you in awe of his voice. The suggestion he was good enough to do it for a living put a smile on his face. As time went on the conversations became more personal, and you shared hopes for the future. Marriage and family were something you both desired when the right person came along.

It should not have surprised you that these steady hours spent together had you falling for the kind man. You were sure his good looks brought lots of attention, but it was Yunho's gentle nature and love for his family that first won you over. To realize you were compatible in many ways sealed the deal on your end.

Nobody made you laugh like he could, and while the hopeful side of you wondered if it was proof he liked you back, the more rational part of your brain recognized Yunho probably was that charming with everyone. Still, you noticed he started to make use of your phone number to text more than flight bookings. The occasional messages were warm inquiries into how your day was going that seemed genuine in their interest and a way to keep in touch between flights. At the very least you figured he considered you a friend, and that felt pretty good.

Yunho never spoke about his profession, but you guessed he was a businessman from the long hours he kept. It made you glad to be self-employed and in control of your schedule in a way Yunho seemed not to be. That ability to set your own timetable for work came in handy when a call came in one night just after you had fallen asleep.

Yunho apologized for the contact at such an unusual hour, but mentioned he was desperate. He and his co-workers had a flight from LAX to Incheon International Airport. They had been scheduled to arrive far earlier but multiple delays kept cropping up and they had been unable to switch to a different plane despite constant efforts from his staff.

In a sleepy haze you mentioned your little aircraft was not able to handle international travel. Once his laughter died down Yunho let you know that was not what he was asking. They were finally about to board the delayed plane and it was being given priority to take off. Instead, he asked if you could fly eight people to Gwangju once they landed at Incheon. There was an appointment that could not be rescheduled and he was desperate to know if you could get the group there in time.

“My cargo plane is not particularly comfortable, but it will get the job done. I'll be ready to go at Incheon tomorrow when you get in.”

“You are saving me again. I really do owe you tickets this time. Text me the details where to meet if you would. Thank you and sleep well.”

With a final yawn you mumbled, “Goodnight Yunho, sleep well too,” then ended your call as you heard cheers on the other end of the line.

Straight off the plane from Los Angeles due to a customs wavier, the group of casually dressed men arrived from the other side of Incheon airport in two security vans, lights flashing. Impressed, you realized Yunho must be a more important person than you knew to get such treatment from the airport. Your own flight plan from Gimpo airport that morning had been similarly easy to obtain permission for, even with such short notice.

Despite his youth, perhaps Yunho was high up in a family business. Still, companies powerful enough to get special treatment would have had a corporate jet of their own for his use. In many ways your friend was still a mystery to you, making you feel you really weren't that close after all. His companions too gave off the air of college kids, but on a second look their comfortable clothes bore the names of fashion houses making you wonder if there was more to them as well.

Passengers now aboard, you prepared to take off for Gwangju. While the majority of the guys who had quickly introduced themselves in passing were now slumped on the cargo area's bench seats fast asleep, Jongho rode as your honorary co-pilot to enjoy the view. Like Yunho, he adapted just as easily to talking through the headset, though he did make a joke about preferring a handheld microphone.

The trip was mostly quiet, with a few questions about the landscape below or the plane's operation. There was one diversion into more personal matters, however. “Yunho has been much happier keeping in closer contact with his family these days. I sense he has another reason too. Yunho mentions you a lot.” Jongho's thoughts ended there, at least the ones he shared, but it gave you things to think about as well. You wondered if one day you could open up to Yunho about how much you truly cared for him. However, that was a matter for another day as you turned your focus to preparing to land as the destination drew near.

Stepping down from the plane, Hongjoong was grateful you had pulled off this logistical miracle. “Thanks to you we won't let ATINY down.”

“ATINY? Never heard of that before. Is that the name of your company?”

Seonghwa was so taken with laughter that he clapped. With a sly smile and a glance to Yunho he asked, “They don't know do they?”

You were too busy to ask what he meant as you rushed the men to your waiting panel van kept in Gwangju for your work. Thanks to a friend who owed you a favor, the modular seats had been reinstalled and you could truck people instead of the usual cargo.

As you drove away from the airport you received directions to their destination along with a little bit of information about ATINY and ATEEZ. It was a shock to discover you had the honor of ferrying an idol group headed to a performance. To the relief of everyone involved, the group easily made it to the festival in time for the line check.

While you watched in amazement from the wings, a KQ Entertainment staffer from the advance crew brought you a festival ticket for the VIP area closest to the stage, compliments of Yunho and the rest of the guys. With time to spare before the evening concert, you could now relax. While Yunho had hours of preparation ahead of him, he had suggested you explore Gwangju's K-Pop Star Street in Chungjang-ro now that his secret identity was known.

As you walked along you began to get a sense of how popular ATEEZ was. A blue and yellow Treasure Ep. 3 album cover was among the shutter murals lining the avenue. Another spot listed quite a number of K-pop artists who had lived in Gwangju followed by a collage that included childhood photos of the local idols. Among them was an adorable toddler in a backwards cap. You suspected that kid with a spoon in his mouth was Yunho so you took a photo to ask him about the next time he caught a ride to visit family.

Gwangju had done a really great job of promoting their homegrown artists. While you might not have recognized the idols' names, even you had heard of the groups 2NE1, Monsta X, Wonder Girls, and BTS. For Yunho to be listed among them told you he had been incredibly modest about his accomplished life. If you had ever taken a walk here before you might have recognized Yunho as a star by name or looks when you first met. It probably was for the best he had the chance to be known as just an everyday guy on your flights together.

The final stop was a wall of cast metal handprints. When you found Yunho's among them you had to place your own in the same spot. Looking like any other fan, you took a picture to remember how the size compared to your own. Perhaps as other fans did too, you wondered how it would feel to hold his hand, go on a date together, hear him profess love for you.... The fantasy ended as the alarm on your phone reminded you to head back in time for ATEEZ's appearance.

Impressed. That was about the only thought you could manage after watching the performance. Yunho had been quite a secret keeper, and you admired his discretion and humility rather than feel slighted by the secrecy.

Before they left the stage, Hongjoong thanked the festival committee for inviting them. Mingi added appreciation to ATINY for being there, and Wooyoung spoke last with grateful words for the pilot who made their appearance possible after flight delays coming off their latest tour. Not one for the spotlight, you shrank in your seat as Wooyoung briefly described your heroic efforts to get them there. “The best way I can thank you is to tell you Yunho has had the biggest crush on you forever but he is too timid to say so!”

The first to recover his wits after such a bombshell, Seonghwa roughly yanked Wooyoung off the stage. His parental scolding could be heard over the screams in the crowd until his headset mic was cut. Many in the audience sounded delighted, but you figured there were some murmurs of envy as well. A few were heard to call out, “I love you too, Yunho!”

It was quick thinking on San's part to get you out of the audience and away from publicity, or being hit by a LIGHTINY from a heartbroken Yunho stan. San hopped down from the stage and assisted you in climbing over the barrier. When security staff protested, Yeosang was right by his side insisting this was a necessary safety precaution as they hustled you off to their dressing area.

Still on stage, Mingi unsuccessfully tried to usher a frozen Yunho into the wings. Jongho wisely solved the problem by passing his microphone to Mingi then hoisting Yunho over his shoulder and carrying him backstage. Finally reunited with Yunho, the other members drew back to give you some privacy. The positive conversation was short and ended with a tentative kiss, then shy smiles all around. ATEEZ's performance at the K-pop festival was memorable for many things that year, but it would best be remembered as a very public beginning to your romantic relationship with Yunho.

~

Yunho Masterlist

General Masterlist

[simonxriley]

1, 2, 25, 29 for Liz x Ghost! 💕

Thank you! 💜

1: What drew your character to their LI and vice versa?

The way he was there for her all the time, even during times where she felt she was being too bitchy. He was there. At first she was kinda 🤨 b/c she wasn't used to it and found it a little weird. It wasn't until it finally connected that someone (that wasn't her brother) was actually looking out for her.

As for Simon, he was drawn to her bluntness/truthfulness. He liked that she said what was on her mind, even if it got her in trouble with the Captain. But for some reason, deep down he needed to look after her and it wasn't b/c she was reckless. He wanted to protect her.

2: What was the first moment that they knew they were in love with their LI? 

When they were betrayed by Shepherd. That whole incident made something in him snap. He knew he liked her (and vice versa), but knowing they could've all died that day without him telling her made him a little afraid. Not only that, but seeing her being engulfed in flames right in front of him was also very heart wrenching. If he wasn't quick on his feet her injuries could've been a lot worse.

Liz knew she loved him, she just never admitted it to herself. It wasn't until Simon confessed his feelings to her when they were in the infirmary that she finally accepted her own feelings. He saved her more times than she could count, how could she not love him?

25: Share any headcanons about their relationship. 

They share the house chores 50/50 with the exception of a few things like work, childbirth, illness, etc than the other will take up that portion as well. Though Simon will do a little more around the house because he's taller and she can't reach that high. Tbh they're 50/50 with like everything in their relationship.

29: What are your favorite moments that happen between them? 

Too many to mention 😩. The one that really shines out is when Simon punches Liz's dad in the face 😆. It was after the 141 became fugitives (tho Liz, Simon and Roach were declared KIA) and Liz was telling him about her childhood. But it wasn't until Logan mentioned to them that Elias didn't care that she was KIA that really sent him over the edge. So he punched him when he saw him again.

[thedevillionaire]

Can I get 9, 13 and I'm really curious about 3 for the writer asks, please? Thank you!

Absolutely!

9. Do you write every day? If you wrote today, share a sentence of what you’ve written!

I very definitely do not. I can and do go through long periods where I don't write at all. But even at my most prolific, I'm not a proper "daily writer". I don't have a ritual or anything like that where I make sure I at least put something down.

But as it happens, I actually DID write a bit today, so…you're in luck! I wrote pretty much nothing all last week, so I guess timing is everything. 😂 "Ah, darkling, sometimes I’m not at all sure that I deserve you." "Oh?" Kia glances up at him with an expression of surprise, of curiosity. "Huh." She shrugs a little, twists a strand of his hair around her finger, and smiles, just a little teasingly, and raises her eyebrows in nonchalant challenge. "Who does deserve me, then, do you think?"

13. How much planning do you do before writing?

Answered here!

3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written? Answered here for The Twentieth (vote 1) and here for Gifted (vote 2) This question was popular! So I'll give Unguarded Moments a mention too, as I have an absolute soft spot for Cerberus when he's kind of a disaster, and this fic is one of my most reliably regular personal go-to rereads.

[finelinevogue]

I am *respectfully* begging for a oneshot based off the song Champagne Problems by Taylor Swift🥺

okay let’s have a bit of fun with this mwhaha;

The moon was at full peak.

She was sat in the black canvas of a starry sky, shining down on the party below or at least so you thought she was. The flute glasses glowed under her brightness and bubbled with happiness. The pool was reflecting her image so beautifully. Everyone looked amazing in their gorgeous evening outfits of silk and lace, Gucci and Prada, chatting and laughing away as the night was close to striking midnight.

“Such a lovely party, Y/N.” Another guest thanked you, you not having the faintest idea of who they were.

You and Harry were hosting a dinner party in the back garden of his Malibu palace to celebrate his recent success over this past year. He’d had movie after movie, along with an album and a tour. He had done exceptionally well for himself, so he wanted to throw the most lavish party to celebrate with his friends and family that had helped him through it all. You had been in charge of organising food and a live band, Harry in charge of the guest list, Mitch in charge of decorations - bu really it had been Sarah - and Gemma in charge of the drinks; specifically champagne.

“I’m glad.” You smiled, as you poured yourself another glass of the bubbles. You felt the warmth of someones hand slide onto your exposed back, making you shiver with temptation and love.

“Have I told you just how beautiful you look this evening?” Harry spoke softly against your ear, kissing over the skin where his words had touched you.

He had been showing you off all night, always introducing you as ‘my beautiful girlfriend’ and keeping you close to him whenever he could. He would pull out his wallet and show people the picture he kept of you in there. It was one he’d taken of you laughing as you ran away from him on the beach. Even though the photo was black and white it was obvious how happy you were. He loved having you near and whenever someone said that they hadn’t seen you yet, he knew to go straight to the desserts table and find you shovelling yet another chocolate coated strawberry into your mouth not-so-gracefully.

“You have, but I won’t stop you if you want to do it again.” You replied, quite enjoying the flattering compliments. You’d dressed yourself in a silky evening gown that was in a deep red colour and Harry was having a hard time keeping his hands off of you. The front was v-cut, with the back completely open too, so it left your skin exposed for Harry to treat himself to. You turned around in his hold and pushed your body into his, making him hum in appreciation.

“I can’t stop thinking how much I want to kiss you.” He looked at your lips as he spoke, wanting to stain his own lips with the bold colour you’d painted on yours. You were so delicious and he wanted to devour every inch of you.

“Well what’s stopping you?” You reached a hand up to scrunch his curls under your fingers, the bracelets on your arm sliding down and jingling with another.

“Meet me upstairs in 5 minutes.” He replied, making you furrow your eyebrows in curiosity of what he was playing at.

“Should I ask why?”

“You shouldn’t, I don’t want to answer when my mum is standing just across the room.” He made you both chuckle, before leaning back from you to give you a quick once over. “Wow.” He breathed out, the biggest grin to his face. “5 minutes.”

And then he was gone.

You bit your lip as he rushed straight over to his mum and sister, who were both eagerly smiling at him. You couldn’t help but fall in love with him a little more at the sight. He was so innocent and full of love and happiness, you were so in awe of him and his beautiful qualities.

You did a quick scour of the room, making sure there were no unhappy faces, before heading in the direction of the bathroom to freshen up before visiting Harry. As you walked up the stairs you noticed a conversation between one of Harry’s cousins and one of his American friends, it sounded quite argumentative so you went to make sure everything was alright.

“You both okay?” You asked sweetly, your heels clicking on the floor as you approached them.

“God you’re just everywhere aren’t you?” The friend laughed, but you could tell she wasn’t laughing for a joke.

“I’m sorry?” You asked shocked at her tone, wondering what the problem was here.

“You’re so up in everyone else’s business always.”

“I don’t understand—”

“No of course you don’t. God, I understand why Harry finds you so annoying and clingy.”

“Kia—” The cousin gasped in shock of Kia’s words.

“No, you know i’m right Rachel just be quiet.” Kia shushed Rachel and brought her attention back to you.

“Harry thinks i’m clingy?” You asked, trying to understand what was really going on.

“That amongst lots of other things.”

“He would never. He loves me.” Your argued, slight tears in your eyes from letting her get to you like this. It was different than tabloids because you were actually hearing it from someone’s mouth, rather than an edited and faceless article. It stung so much more.

“And? Did you really think he would ever stick around for someone like you?” Kia laughed and then walked off, strutting her and her perfect body away from you and back to the main party area. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, trying to understand what her words truly meant to you.

“Y/N…” Rachel tried to console you, but you didn’t want her. You wanted Harry and yet now you didn’t.

“Do you think all that too?” You asked quietly, scared to hear an answer. You got your answer though when she spoke nothing and tilted her head down in shame. You understood. “Okay, thank you.” You quietly said and tried your best to smile, but you knew it didn’t reach your eyes.

You started walking towards the stairs, thinking what this all meant. You always had a back thought that Harry was too good for you, but you just never let yourself be put in the position to think upon that thought. Now though. Now, you were thinking.

Of course you would be naive enough to think that your happily ever after would be with the one man who’s heart could be taken by every other woman on the planet. Even your university teacher had once talked about having a crush on him and he had only been 21 at the time. You never thought here, when he was 27, would you possibly be the one to hold his heart. You did, though, but it wouldn’t be forever - Kia was right, Rachel was right. Everyone knew, but you were just too blinded by his love for you right now to think that it will just wilt away in the future. You were a rose, beautiful and in it’s prime as it flourished on the love it was fed, but after time when even the smallest amounts of love are forgotten to be given the rose wilts and so dies. It’s forgotten about in turn and left to degrade itself into oblivion.

You walked the stairs slowly, completely numb to your core. How could all of 5 minutes turn your emotions 180° and permanently? Your brain ran over the thoughts and little moments that you should’ve picked up on before. Like, when Harry forgot your anniversary and blowing it off that he had been at some work-do but he’d really been at Karlie Kloss’ birthday party. Like, when Harry stopped sending you postcards when he was on tour. Like, when he did that heart-rate test and saw a picture of Camille, looking utterly stunning, on the Victoria Secret runway his heart beat was incredibly high. Is that what he wanted 30 years from now? A model? Someone who was in the same business as him and could understand. You tried to, you really did, but it was starting to feel like maybe you weren’t to be enough.

Making your way down the hallway this way, you couldn’t help but feel like it was for the last time. There was this gut feeling that whatever Harry wanted you for, was going to make sure you were both reminded why you couldn’t be together.

“Damn. You’re a vision.” Harry whistled and you then spotted him at the end of the hallway, the moon shining in through the window and lighting him up like the pure angel he was. You weren’t worthy of his heart. You could only chuckle, not having the passion to make a flirty comment back. Not anymore.

“Listen Harry—” “Okay I have to ask you—” You both talked at the same time, bringing only a nervous chuckle to your face.

“You first.” He offered.

“No, you.” You offered back and he took it.

“Okay, alright.” He breathed in heavily. “You’re so beautiful.” He started, making you blush a little but it was dim up here so you weren’t worried about him noticing. Hopefully he didn’t see the sadness in your eyes either.

“Thank you.” You replied humbly.

“And I want to be able to wake up and tell you that every single day—”

“Harry…” You cut him off, your heart having just dropped so low to the floor.

“Yes?”

“Is this…”

“If you let me continue, yes.” He laughed, thinking that you were happy for him to continue. He was about to, but you cut him off.

“Don’t.” You said, a shake in your voice that was very apparent.

“Don’t— what?” He asked confused, stepping closer to you and only for you to step back. He stopped when he noticed that he would not be able to make distance to you, furrowing his eyebrows and looking hurt. Really hurt. Pain that you and you alone were causing him.

“Don’t ask me the question I think you’re about to.” You held of your hand to both stop him coming closer and to stop him talking. “Just don’t.”

“Baby… what?” Harry asked confused, tears visible in his eyes now. He just wanted to be near you and understand.

“Harry… Don’t make me say it.” You warned him.

“Say what?”

“Harry…”

“Y/N, say what?”

“No!” You shouted, loud enough that people downstairs might’ve heard. “No, Harry. No. I won’t marry you.” You started to cry and let the tears fall freely. You deserved to feel like your heart had been ripped from your chest, the same way you deserved to cry forever. You deserved nothing but pain to repay the damage you’d caused Harry.

“Wha—” He started, but you were too selfish to stick around and watch him crumble. You shot off down the hallway and down the stairs, making your way to the front door. Luckily you didn’t have to go through the masses of people to face the disappointing faces. Luckily no one had to see your cries, except Kia. She was stood by the front door, holding out your coat already as if she were waiting for you.

“Kia what—”

“You thought this evening was for Harry? No. It was for you.” She shoved your coat to you, making you stumble back from the force.

“What?”

“This was your surprise engagement party, with the surprise being the fucking engagement. Everyone knew about it apart from you. He had this plan of asking you and then coming downstairs to everyone yelling surprise. Seems like you fucked that up though.” She sneered at you and your sobs fell from your throat harder than before, your makeup ruining the prettiness of your face as it ran from all the salty tears.

“But you…”

“I what? Said a bunch of bullshit? I was only saying things you’ve heard a million times before. I was making sure you were the right person for our Harry. Seems like you’re far from it.” She chuckled, shaking her head in disappointment at you.

“You’re cruel.”

“No, Y/N, you are. You just did the one thing that I would’ve never done; break Harry’s heart.” She looked at you in disgust before opening the door for you. You gave her one last look, hate in her eyes for you, before you walked outside with the door slamming forcefully behind you. Your heart being left besides Harry’s broken one.

[clonecaptains]

kept promises

a fives x f!reader fic~ 

word count: 4k

rating: m - for mild smut 

summary: fives aims to keep his promise to marry you when the war is over. but things get complicated when he’s been shot. this is my fix it fic where fives doesn’t die :) pls enjoy

a/n: fives is the loml and ive been wanting to write about him for so long~~ i hope yall like this!! comments are appreciated!! 

A loud knock on your apartment door stirs you from your sleep. You weren’t resting well anyways, but the bang on the door startles you. You push the covers back and feeling disoriented you rush for the front door. You fear something is wrong because who would be banging on your door at this hour. If Fives was coming home, he wouldn’t knock. He knows the entry code, it’s his place too.

You push the button, and the door opens with a hiss. You’re greeted with the sight of Rex and Jesse standing in your doorway. It’s always nice to see them, but from the looks on their faces it’s not going to be a pleasant visit.

Your face falls and you feel ill.

Fives.

“Is he alive?” you feel tears well up in your eyes and you reach for Rex. His eyes are sad, he carries a weight on him, and you know it.

“For now,” Rex winces to tell you the truth. “He’s been shot.”

Your hand flies to your mouth and Jesse reaches out to touch a hand to your arm.

“We came to get you to take you to him,” Jesse tries to speak as gently as possible.

“You need to pack a bag,” Rex puts his hand on your shoulder. “I can’t tell you why, but you need to hurry. There’s more to this than we can say right now.”

You nod and move aside so the boys can come in.

“Rex? Can you get some things you think Fives might need?” you ask him, you’re not entirely sure of the situation and he nods disappearing back into the bedroom you share with Fives. You yourself grab a bag and begin to stuff random clothing items in it, unsure of what you’ll even need.

This is more your place than Fives, he’s working constantly and only comes once in awhile when he has rare time off. But you have nothing here that really matters to you. What matters is him.

Your bag is stuffed full, and you’re flustered bringing it into the living area. A thin lacy pair of underwear hangs from the top, and Jesse quirks a brow.

“Packing the essentials?” he teases. “Has he seen you in that?”

“No, as a matter of fact he hasn’t,” your face warms and you shove it deeper into your bag and zip it tight.

“Jesse,” Rex’s voice is stern. He might have smiled before, but not now. “We need to go.”

Rex shoulders the bag packed for Fives, and Jesse takes your bag and slings it over his shoulder casually. You follow the boys, and your door closes behind you for the last time.

“Where are we going?” you ask, keeping up with their long strides.

“Can’t tell you,” Rex nods in the direction of a small ship outside your place. You follow them on board and Jesse is quick to get the ship into the atmosphere. He punches in the coordinates and before you know it, you’re off Coruscant headed out into space.

Rex sits down in front of you, and you feel queasy. You know he’s about to tell you something difficult and you’re not ready to hear it.

“You know when Fives sets his mind to something he won’t stop,” Rex smiles softly at that, knowing his brother’s determination. You smile too but a tear falls down your cheek. “He got into something he shouldn’t have, and he was shot for it. We took him off Coruscant for his own protection, and our own. If anyone were to find out about this, we could be in serious trouble.”

You nod. You won’t say a word.

“Besides Jesse and I, Kix is the only one who knows. He’s with Fives now. Get some rest, it’ll be hard to see him when we arrive,” he nods.

You nod back and take his advice. You try and sleep but to no avail. You do lie still and try to prepare yourself for what you’re about to see.

The ship exiting hyperspace stirs you before Rex comes to get you. He’s quiet and patient while you sigh heavily, knowing you’re about to see him.

The planet you land on is one you’re unfamiliar with but it’s beautiful. Trees and mountains fill your sight. The boys take your bags and lead you to a humble little house nestled in some trees near a small pond.

Rex goes in first, and Jesse waits outside with you. Just in case something has happened. They don’t say that, but you know that’s why.

Rex opens the door back up and gives you both a small nod that it’s ok. Jesse puts his hand on your lower back and walks with you into the little house.

It’s a comfortable space, and you’re greeted with Kix as soon as you walk in. He gives you a soft smile and a nod, telling you that it’s ok.

“He’s in the back,” Kix tells you and the boys let you walk into the bedroom alone to see Fives.

In a cozy bedroom, Fives is laying out on the bed on his back. He’s hooked up to a number of machines. You’d seen a medical droid in the living area with Kix, so you know he’s in good hands. But it still breaks your heart to see him like this.

His head has been shaved, and there’s a cut on the right side of his head. It’s been patched up, but you can still see some old blood that seeped through the bandage. He’s shirtless and there’s a bandage wrapped around his chest from where you can only assume is the blaster injury.

You reach for him and touch his shoulder. Then you stroke his cheek with the back of your finger. You place a tender kiss on his forehead before you lay down on the bed next to him. Careful of everything he’s hooked up to, you rest your head on his shoulder.

You fall asleep there and you don’t know how long you stay there with him. It’s Fives who wakes you. His body stirs and you gasp softly sitting up. His eyes open, you can tell he’s exhausted. Even the rich tones of his skin seem paler. But he smiles when he sees you. His hand reaches up to cup your face and he mumbles a mando’a pet name.

He falls back asleep, and you feel tears well up in your eyes again. Just a brief glimmer of the life in his eyes is enough to bring you joy and sorrow.

You think about when you first knew him. How you and your friends would go to 79’s and they would try to push you in Fives’ direction. How if he ever looked your way you’d look away and avoid his gaze. You did this for weeks. Then he’d leave for a mission, and you wouldn’t see him for months.

Before too long, he approached you. And it was his brothers teasing him. Daring him to talk to you and howling when you agreed to go out with him.

You sniffle softly with a smile at the memory of when you kissed him on the cheek, and he was quick to put his helmet on to hide his flustered face.

The boys would tell you later that you were the first person Fives was interested in that made him act like this. Usually he was smoother, more charismatic with charm. But with you? Brain dead. Just as flustered as you.

That was months ago. But it feels like a lifetime ago. He made a promise to you before his last mission that when the war was over, he’d settle down and marry you. He said this a few weeks back before he left. And now here he is, laying on a bed recovering from being shot.

You sit up and press a kiss to his lips before you climb off the bed. You’re hurting and you need some air. And you think it’s wise to tell Kix that Fives woke for a moment.

“Rex?” you whisper, and he’s quick to stand when you speak his name. “Will you walk with me while I get some air?”

You don’t want to be alone right now. Especially not on this strange new planet. And you trust Rex with your life. You don’t know this, but Fives made Rex promise to keep an eye on you if something ever happened.

Rex is right behind you when you step outside. You breathe deeply and he does too. You can’t imagine it’s ever easy seeing one of your brothers hurt like this.

The two of you begin to explore and walk quietly together.

“Fives is a good man. One of the best I know. He’ll make a good husband I think,” Rex smiles offering you his blessing.

“He told you?” your face warms at the thought of him talking about you.

Rex chuckles, “we always knew in the barracks that night if he had a date with you. He wouldn’t shut up. He told me months ago he wanted to marry you.”

You cover your smile with your hand, and Rex smiles seeing the affection on your face.

“Seeing our brothers find joy in this war is a gift. And you have been a true joy to him.”

You spend the rest of the walk in silence. Enjoying the sound of the wind in the trees. It’s peaceful. You see a few animals and some homes nearby. It’s good to know you aren’t truly alone out here.

You can only assume the boys will pack up and leave- no matter the outcome.

But then Rex gets an unexpected message that they are needed. They have to pack up that night. Kix runs you through everything you need to know about what you can do to help. He’ll leave the medical droid there with you to help as best it can.

You can’t help the tears that fall when the boys get ready to leave.

You give each one a hug and a kiss on his cheek. Thanking them for what they’ve done for you and for Fives.

Rex hugs you a little tighter than the rest, and you know he hates to leave you here alone. Kix feels a pang of guilt leaving Fives too, but none of them are even supposed to be here. Kix has already reported Fives as KIA to keep the both of you safe, but it’s hard to leave.

Then it’s quiet. It’s just you and Fives and a droid. Fives is still resting, and the droid is checking his vitals. Based on what Kix told you, Fives sustained a couple broken ribs from the shot. He should be fine, but it will take time to fully heal, and he will be sore.

That’s how you spend the next couple weeks. Fives slowly starts to heal and he’s able to get on his feet. You take walks when he feels like it, and you learn about each other. For the first time in a long time, you have time to spend together. Getting to share meals and stories and watching silly videos on the holonet.

You even find out about the end of the war when you’re here. The turn of the tide. That there’s an empire now. Fives has a hard time that day. Feeling betrayed, knowing he was right. Pain eating him up inside knowing many of his brothers are out there fighting something in their head they can’t stop. The lives that have been lost. Even the Jedi.

He’s quiet for a few days then. Trying to rationalize what it all means. And where he fits in in this galaxy.

When he comes to bed that night, you know he’s haunted.

“Take it easy my love,” you kiss his temple. His hair is starting to grow back and it’s soft to the touch. You smile at being so close to him. You’ve shared a bed with him for the last few weeks, and even before when you lived on Coruscant. But you’d yet to be intimate with him.

You’d never been intimate with anyone at all. And you know the day will soon come that Fives will be your first. And hopefully your only.

“I can’t believe the war is over,” he says gently pulling you into his arms. It’s less and less painful now to hold you. He kisses your stern brow. “And I made you a promise,” he grins.

You’ve thought about that promise every day. Especially when you thought you might lose him. But now it’s even stronger sharing a bed and all your time with him. He’s so close to you. You can feel his warmth and smell his skin. The soft touch of his lips on yours before bed.

When your relationship was new you told him you wanted him. And he told you the same. But you made an agreement to wait until after the war. You can’t really remember why now. Because when you thought you lost him, all you could think about was the moments that might have been lost. Or the regret.

But now that he’s safe, and the war for him is over – you’re glad you chose this. There’s no urgency. And you both know that once he heals, you’ll take that final step together.

And it’s getting closer. A growing feeling in the pit of your belly tells you. Fives is able to do most things now. He had difficulty staying in bed. Staying still. He wanted to get up and move. He thrives off the day-to-day chores around the house and taking care of their land that you’re not sure how Rex even got ahold of.

You woke yesterday morning in Fives arms and his hard length pressing against you. He was just as flustered as you were, but you saw the flame of desire in his eyes. And that flame licked your body all over. You were tired of waiting, but now you had to for him to heal. You would feel terrible if something happened to him for the sake of pleasure. But you could only imagine his wry chuckle in saying he wouldn’t mind at all.

“Fives?” you call to your lover this afternoon out the window. He’s in the back tending to the garden that has begun to grow. He perks his head up at the sound of your voice and he smiles warmly. With his forearm, he wipes sweat off his brow and joins you inside. “How are you feeling my love?” you ask him after he gives you a kiss. You taste the salt from his sweat and you’re aching. You need him. Now.

He knows you, and your looks. He knows what this means.

“Good enough to keep my promise,” he gives a little wink and pulls off his sweaty shirt. He only grunts a little from the movement, but it’s nothing major. You giggle at his eagerness but then feel your knees buckle at the sight of his sweaty chest. Dark hair is dusted lightly over his pecs and lead down to his waistband.

“Fives,” you moan and touch his skin. This isn’t the first time you’ve seen him shirtless or touched him like this. But it feels different now. There’s a scar and a slight yellowing from his bruise almost done healing.

He reaches for the hem of your shirt when there’s a quiet knock on the door.

Fives laughs because you’ve been alone for weeks and now there’s a knock at this moment.

“Who is it?” Fives calls and Rex answers. You both light up at the sound of his voice, and Fives runs to open the front door for him.

Rex looks exhausted. He has a cut on his head in the same place Fives does. And he wears a tan poncho over his armor. Any humor about the moment has gone when Rex sees Fives and hugs him tight.

Something in you tells you that Rex has lost too many brothers over the last few weeks. And seeing Fives alive is a peace he needed.

“I came to check on the two of you,” he tells you finally. “But I seemed to have interrupted you,” he almost looks shy.

“Actually,” Fives stops and looks at you for a moment with a smile. “You might be just the man we need.”

Fives disappears into the bedroom. You and Rex exchange looks as you hear Fives clattering around. He emerges moments later in full armor. There’s a blast mark on his chest plate and you try not to look at it but it’s the thing on everyone’s mind.

“Why did you put this on?” you ask him touching his shoulder. You love how broad he looks in his armor, and you lean up to give him a kiss on the cheek. You love him so much and it’s hitting you hard seeing him in this armor. Just how you could have lost him and yet here he stands.

“Rex? Wanna marry us? Can you do that?”

Rex smiles bigger than you’ve ever seen, and no one really cares if he can legally or not. You’ve been married to Fives for a long time as far as you’re concerned.

“Well wait, I want to look nice too,” you stop and head to your room to put something else on. You choose one of the nicer things you brought with you when you were scrambling to pack all those weeks ago. You put it on and feel giddy with love.

Fives offers you his arm when you come out, and he leads you outside into the quiet of the woods. He takes your hands in his and Rex stands with the two of you.

“You know, I’ve never actually been to a wedding before,” Rex chuckles, getting a loud laugh from Fives. “Fives,” Rex speaks his brother’s name, and Fives stands at attention. “The Republic has fallen. We live in the times of the Empire now. You’ll always be a soldier but this time – your duty is to this one in front of you. Promise me, yourself, but most importantly to your riduur  that you will protect and love with all that you have. I know you will. But it’s an order Fives.”

Rex smiles, and Fives gives a nod. He squeezes your hands, and you know he will keep his promise.

Then Rex looks to you. His eyes are gentle.

“You have been given a gift. And that’s the love of my brother. I know him better than anyone, and I know how much he loves you. I know he would do anything for you. Because I know I would if I were in his shoes. I’m trusting you to look out for him. Protect his heart. I know you have, and I trust you with him.”

By now you have tears in your eyes. But it’s more than just from love- it’s knowing that you have Rex’s trust. He’s one of the best men that you know.

Rex pauses, and steps back a moment. And Fives takes that opportunity to cup your face in his hands and kiss you deeply. Then he presses his forehead to yours and if only you knew then what the gesture meant to him and Rex.

When you part, you reach for Rex and give him another hug and kiss on his cheek.

“I owe you everything,” you tell him, and his brow is stern even with his small smile.

Fives then grabs Rex in an even bigger hug and kisses him loudly on the cheek. They touch foreheads and then Fives laughs shoving Rex on the shoulder telling him to get lost.

“We have things to do,” Fives laughs again, and Rex can only roll his eyes with amusement.

“Stay safe, I’ll contact you if I need you again,” Rex tells you both and with that he’s gone.

The moment Rex is out of sight, Fives grabs you. His hands are on your hips digging into your skin and his lips are on yours. He’s already moaning into you as he backs you into the house.

He knows that you’ve never been with anyone, and it makes him even more hungry to touch you. He’s eager and excited and between his kisses and tugging off your clothes, he makes sure every action is alright.

He’s so excited that he forgets to undress himself, and he has you naked in front of him while he stands in full armor.

“Fives,” you feel shy and tempted to cover yourself while he stands proud in his armor.

“Oh, right,” he chuckles and begins to take off his armor piece by piece. You help him in between kisses, and he sneaks little butt grabs and smacks while he can. He gets distracted easily by the sway of your breasts as you move, and he squeezes them until you squeak.

When he’s free of his armor and blacks and everything else, he tips you back onto the bed and kisses you all over. Every bit of you that he can kiss, he does. His goatee tickles and you tug on his hair even though it’s still really short.

He finds himself between your legs and he takes his time. Going back and forth between his mouth and his hands until you’re crying out his name. He’s almost too rough in his eagerness and you gasp and giggle pushing him off you. You could cry, you’ve never been wanted so much in your life.

“Sorry,” he presses a kiss to your thigh. “You taste so good,” he murmurs against your skin.

“Don’t be,” you feel warm, “I just want more from other parts of you,” you giggle when he raises an eyebrow.

He slides up your body and delves his tongue into your mouth and squeezes your breast again as he lines up with your entrance. He’s slow moving inside and you cry out in his kiss. Your hands are on his shoulders, and you tell him to wait.

He’s patient and kisses you while you adjust to him. But you can tell he’s ready to move. He grunts and his abs tighten, and he can’t help the wince that escapes his lips.

“Do we need to stop?” you ask him, your voice full of concern.

“No,” he shudders when he pushes in a little deeper. “I need you mesh’la.”

He focuses on feeling the pleasure of it and making sure you feel your pleasure. When you arch your back and press your chest to his, something about the action sends him over and he cries out in your ear as he spills inside of you.

He whispers another apology but you’re moaning and gasp when you feel his thumb press where you need him most. You find your release with a whine.

He pulls out of you but stays on you. He slides down a little and rests his head on your chest. His face nestled between your breasts and his ear can hear your heartbeat pound.

“Happy?” you giggle scratching his head as he nuzzles your breast.

“Happier than I’ve ever been. Are you?” he looks up at you, resting his chin on your sternum.

You nod and scratch his back then his scalp. “I’ve never been so happy in my life. I love you baby,” you tell him.

“I love you cyare,” he mumbles kissing your sternum before laying back down.

You don’t know if he’s thinking the same thing, you are. But all you can think about is how a few weeks ago you were laying in this bed with him hoping he would get up. Hoping he would move. Praying he was alive.

Now that you have him in your arms, you’ve never been more thankful he’s alive. But in this case, you don’t want him to move. He feels too good.

He can feel your heartbeat, and you can feel his warmth. The life is in him again and you truly have never been happier to have him alive. Heart pounding and life in his veins, and that fire of love in his eyes.

[worth-more-than-two-thousand]

Returning from the Dead is Easier Said than Done...

Request: Welcome, Shiny! May I request an x Reader (can be fem or gender neutral) where Echo (post-citadel) comes up to their s/o's doorstep to give them flowers and ask them on a date? A plus if the Bad Batch teases him for dressing up nicely and buying flowers. Thank you! (@handmaidenthesimp)

Author’s Note: Enjoy! If anybody wants me to repost with a gender-neutral reader, just let me know. 

Story Notes: Some swearing, not much else to warn you about. Take place in-between Season 7 of CW and The Bad Batch. No Omega this time, sorry! 

🖑 🖑 🖑 🖑 🖑

Being declared dead was uncomplicated. Your Republic file was branded with a "KIA" stamp, everyone stoically mourned, and someone just a bit shinier would step in to fill your shoes. 

Being declared undead, however, was decidedly more complicated. Oh, Echo was reassigned to Clone Force 99 easily enough. But it was the little things that seemed to get mired in red tape. Getting his few personal effects back. Re-opening his modest credit account.

Approving a rental application.

Admittedly, it wasn't that Echo really needed his own place; clones were conditioned to be accustomed to share minimalist, often-cramped quarters. And they were always on the move, so it hardly made any financial or practical sense, in the long run. 

But right now, oh, did Echo dearly wish that he was dressing up in the privacy of his own space...and not the shared cabin area of the Havoc Marauder. 

He kept his face stoic, as though readying for battle, refusing to acknowledge his teammates goggling in the background. They had returned early from their supply run. Echo had meant to be out of here an hour ago, but (somehow) hadn’t counted on just how difficult it would be to get dressed into multiple clothing pieces with a scomp link for a hand. 

So that’s how his comrades found him: trying to wrangle a neck accessory into submission by sheer will. 

Oh, if Fives could see him now. 

“You look funny,” Wrecker had declared decisively after an unbearably long silence. “What’s that thing you’ve got on?” 

“It’s a suit,” he grumbled, refusing to look any of them in the eye. “I’m going to see Y/N.”

Wrecker gasped like a fishwife. He leaned forward, and pitched his voice low. As though the others couldn’t still hear him in the tinny space.  “Your girlfriend? You mean you’re going to see her for the first time....since…” Wrecker made a muted cartoonish sound with his mouth, clenching then expanding his fingers in a gesture for ‘explosion’.

Echo stared at him for a moment disbelievingly, before nodding slowly, forcing the sarcastic response he really wanted to say back down. He couldn’t fault Wrecker for being...well, Wrecker. He had all the tact of a rampaging bantha. 

“An’ what’s that? Around your neck?” 

Echo opened his mouth, but someone cut across his response. “A bowtie,” Crosshair drolled, though his eyes glittered with amusement. Echo tensed, knowing that he wasn’t going to like what was coming next. 

“Fifty credits says he chokes, and he ends up strangling himself with it in shame." 

“No way!” Wrecker exclaimed, always the optimist. He clapped Echo on the back, who was unprepared so his knees buckled. He felt his metal joints strain. “Don’t worry, Echo,” his brother rasped in the loudest whisper known to man. “I bet she’s gonna love it!” 

“You know,” Tech piped up unhelpfully, “Your strategy may backfire. The current deviation from your usual appearance may be so jarring for your beloved that she refuses your offer out of simple self-preservation instincts.” 

Echo gritted his teeth. “Right. You have stats to back that up, I suppose?” 

Tech blinked at him owlishly. “Of course I don’t. This is an obvious possible outcome.”

“I’m trying to look nice,” he snapped, scowling. 

There was a loaded pause. “...’trying’ being the objective word here,” Crosshair smirked.  

Before Echo could wipe the look off his comrade’s face with a well-placed ARC trooper punch that would’ve made Hardcase proud, Hunter wedged his way in between them, hands up in a conciliatory gesture. 

“All right, laugh it up, fellas. Personally, I think you’re all jealous because you don’t have a girl waiting for you like Echo does.” Hunter turned to face their newest member, took the bowtie that was clenched in Echo’s fist, and smoothed it out before proceeding to tie it around his neck with surprisingly deft hands. 

Crosshair ‘hmphed’ while Wrecker verbally agreed, looking slightly put out by the undeniable truth. Tech simply nodded in neutral confirmation. The group lapsed into a somewhat awkward (but not unwelcome) silence as Hunter finished tugging at the folded ends of the bow, then double-checking to ensure it was straight. He stepped back to assess his work.

“You look good,” he said sincerely.

Echo thought he was in the clear. 

Hunter frowned. “But...it looks like you’re missing something.” 

Or not. 

“Like dignity?” Crosshair drawled from a dark corner of the ship that Echo frustratingly couldn’t glare at. 

“A sense of self-confidence,” Tech suggested. He wasn’t joking. 

“FLOWERS!” Wrecker boomed confidently. “All girls like flowers. You gotta get her some before you see her!”   

“I...fine.” Echo relented, anything to get his teammates to shut up. He shoved his way through them towards the bridge. “I’ll get her some flowers. You all stay here until I get back. I mean it, Fives!” he warned.

An uneasy silence followed him, which he didn’t register until he reached the landing ramp. 

He shot an exasperated look back at them. “What?’ 

“...Your former comrade is not here, Echo.” Tech finally spoke. His words were clinical, as always, but there was a touch of understanding underlying his tone. 

Echo froze, just for a moment, then shook off the shock of his faux pas as best as he could. 

It wasn’t the first time that had happened, after all. 

Echo descended the landing ramp, squared his shoulders, and marched into town. 

Y/N lived in a run-down but culturally distinct district of Coruscant, characterized by food stalls from species and ethnicities all over the galaxy. Children often ran through the streets, sellers in colorful robes and attire shouting their wares and art for all to peruse. It was one of the nicer markets, he thought, having come here once. He had been accompanying Y/N on her usual run for specialized ingredients that made the diner she worked at the talk of the galaxy. 

Echo elbowed his way through the crowded street, content to simply blend in with the crowd, to forget about being a soldier for a moment. 

He paused at a flower stand and was mindful not to draw too much attention to his scomp-link hand as he ordered a dozen sunflowers, which he remembered were Y/N’s favorite. When his credit chip was declined, however, he sighed and reached into his pocket to see what spare change he could muster up. Being that he was wearing a never-worn suit, however, meant that there was no change to be found, and the unimpressed florist snatched the bouquet away. 

That’s okay, Echo. Y/N doesn't need flowers. She just wants to see you.

At least, he hoped that was the case. He hadn’t exactly written to her yet, unsure that he could sufficiently explain his sudden non-death in typed words...

Surprise! I’m not dead! Hey, you know that explosion on the citadel? Well, I survived! And out of it, I got an all-expenses paid trip to  the Techno Union research facility! Why didn’t I write? Well, I was in stasis most of the time and that part’s a bit fuzzy. I also was responsible for killing my brothers by using their own battle plans against them. Oh, and you might notice that I’m missing most of my fleshy bits these days… 

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, which were more rapid these days thanks to his enhancements. He was good at compartmentalizing, though. He had to be. He was still a soldier, through and through, and no one wanted a soldier who was about two seconds away from a mental breakdown.

Yeah, a letter to Y/N wouldn’t have cut it. But he still felt like maybe he could have sent ahead some sort of...heads up? A warning? A ‘Please don’t scream when you see me because I don’t think my heart could take it?’ 

His feet finally guided him to the front entrance of the building where he knew she lived on the 14th floor. Glancing around, he spotted some blue flowers sprouting in a planter near the entrance. He yanked a fairly healthy-looking handful from the soil, shaking the roots to get most of the dirt off. He tucked the strangled roots into his fist so that they would be less obvious. 

It was time. He nodded to himself, squared his shoulders, and entered the building. 

A short elevator ride later, Echo could feed the sweat beading at his forehead and neck. At least his fight or flight response seemed to be healthy and alive, and Echo tuned out everything but the door in front of him, adorned with a purple wreath of lavender flowers. 

He stood in front of the door, and raised his hand to knock. 

He stood…

In front of the door…

...and raised his hand…

...to knock, you coward. Just fucking knock. 

His raised knuckles, however, refused to move. Echo caught a glimpse of himself in the curtained window panes on the sides of the door, and at the sight of his bloodless face, suddenly felt a whole lot less sure of himself. 

He looked ridiculous. 

He and Y/N had barely gotten to know each other before his untimely death. 

What if she was with someone new? 

This was a terrible idea. Echo should leave now, before he caused himself any more embarrassment. Crosshair might get his fifty credits, after all. 

Echo had just convinced himself to turn around and admit defeat, when the door suddenly swung open. 

Two Y/C/E eyes met his. 

There were points during Echo’s battle career where time slowed to a crawl. When an explosive grenade was thrown just a bit too close, or the comrade you had just exchanged banter with received blaster fire to the face. 

Echo was experiencing the same sensation now, but he would voluntarily stay in this moment forever, if he could. He fervently hoped his nightmares would be replaced with the sight that was etched before him. 

She was wearing her yellow work uniform, white apron pressed crisply with starch...and was as beautiful as ever. Her hair was up in a messy ‘late-for-work’ up-do, a smudge of blushed color not quite within the lines of her lips smearing her cupids’ bow where she had applied it in a rush.

He couldn’t determine whether her reaction to his sudden appearance was positive or not, and so didn’t dare speak first, breathlessly afraid that if he did, the moment would shatter. 

He saw her swallow hard, glancing at him from head to toe, gaze landing on his right hand. 

He guarded his heart. 

“Ech? Echo, is that you?” she whispered. Her eyes tore away from the scomp link hand, and began searching his face as though just as afraid he would disappear. 

He nodded. “Yeah,” he rasped, then cleared his throat. “Yeah, it’s me.”

The silence stretched out, and the fight or flight response was creeping back. 

“I know I look a bit different.” He tried for a light-hearted joke, but couldn’t quite get his tone to match. “Had some work done. What do you think?” He winced slightly.

She stepped forward and he froze as Y/N lifted her fingers, hesitating briefly before gently touching one of the metal bolts by his left temple. Her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“...do they hurt?” 

He gasped a little as he remembered to breathe again.

“No,” he reassured her, raising his undamaged hand to steady hers. “No, it doesn’t hurt.” 

“...good.” 

The wind was knocked out of him as Y/N flung her arms around him, burying her face in his neck, tardiness to her job completely forgotten. 

She began sobbing. It wasn’t neat little sobs, like in the scripted holovids, but heaving sobs that wracked her whole body, and he worried slightly that she was going to faint on him. He forgot about his scomp link for the first time as he rubbed it in circles against her back, murmuring nonsense words of comfort in her ear. 

After several minutes, she sniffled, stepping back. She rubbed her nose ungracefully where snot was leaking out, but Echo could have cared less about any of that. He only kept his arms out to steady her, in case she needed support again.

Y/N glanced down suddenly, and flushed.

“Oh. I’ve crushed them.”

Echo followed her gaze and saw that he was still holding the blue flowers from the planter in his good hand, the bouquet having been caught in between their bodies when she had thrown herself at him. They did look a little worse for wear. 

He shrugged unconcernedly. “They were free,” he said, not wanting her to feel guilty. 

She stared at him for a moment before a bubble of laughter burst from her lips. She still looked like she was about to sob at any moment, but she smiled tremulously at him through shining eyes. 

Desperate to make her feel better, he began rambling. 

“I can get you better ones! N-not right now, though,” he stuttered. “Actually, it turns out that I don’t have any credits on me at the moment. Everything’s still kind of backed up at the bank regarding my accounts. Also, this suit is new. Well. Not new. It used to belong to this woman’s father who we rescued during a mission on Bith. Long story.” His brain, which worked faster than usual these days anyways, still couldn’t seem to catch up to his mouth.

He forced himself to get back to the task at hand. “I was actually here to ask you for a date. I mean, assuming there’s no one else at the moment…oh, but you have your job to go do…bantha spit, I forgot about that...” He would have to ask Tech if it was possible for his brain to actually short-circuit.

Echo finally trailed off. Now he was the one blushing. 

The whole of Domino Squad was probably having a good laugh at his expense right about now, wherever they were. 

But Y/N was still smiling at him. And her chin had stopped wobbling. She gently took the flowers from Echo’s hand and placed them on one of the side tables in the hallway before intertwining her fingers with his and grasping his right hand without hesitation. 

“Forget about my job. Let’s go on that date. My treat. Though, if I know Dexter, he’ll give us a free meal, on the house. And the rest of the day off."

For the first time since he had joined Clone Force 99, since he had been rescued on Skako Minor, and even before the Citadel...Echo allowed a true grin of happiness to spread on his face. 

“A free meal,” he echoed. “Sounds like a plan.” 

[lovely-necromancy]

A Cure for Insomnia CH 1.

This is a reader insert I originally started posting on AO3. I’m cross posting here because I know some of the fandom still lives here.

Quick Disclaimer:

This is a fic I'm writing for my own comfort.

I was inspired by RaeBees (you can check out their works over on Quotev and AO3), and how they characterize the "proxies". Having always seen the characters different than most of the fandom I've interacted with I never really shared my thoughts until now. This work is only placed in the Creepypasta tag so it reaches its demographic. However, I am fully aware of the fact that no main character is considered a Pasta.

It may also appear to lean more Toby X Protag in the beginning but end goal is protag with all three, and Brian and Tim already in a relationship. How I picture it now is a slowburn but Toby and Protag will be in a friends with benefits relationship before either has any feelings, so I think that counts. Some may be confused by the asexual protag tag but it'll be explained in story, as an Ace myself I get frustrated with media that only show one version and say it goes for us all. That being said I don't represent the whole Ace community but I hope to provide a bit more representation for some others out there.

Protag will be depicted as agender, and will have a few tics that stem from their Autism. Again I don't speak for any others with Autism but I hope to provide some representation for those in similar positions.

Tags will be updated as the story progresses. Canon-Typical violence and mental health issues are to be expected if you feel uncomfortable with those aspects I advise you to not engage. This story will also have a lot of NSFW themes and scenes so I highly discourage anyone under the age of 18 from viewing this work. You will get warnings on chapters with NSFW and I will make it skippable as well.

I'm also very nitpicky and gave the main characters birthdays just because it irritates me when it gets mentioned once and you have to do the math or imagine your own conversation when a birthday was too close to a character's.

Tim January 1st, home state Alabama

Toby April 28th, home state Virginia (saw this years ago no clue if it's accurate)

Protag May 13th, home state Virginia

Brian May 23rd, home state Alabama

Connor the service dog July 18th, home state Kentucky

I've referred to Protag as Protag here but in story they're referred to as YN.

Everything felt impossibly dull; your senses, the dark room you're currently in, the noise coming from the fan just to the left of the bed on which you laid. Turning to the window beside your head you stare out into that weird midnight summer sky. More of a gray than a true dark blue night, cast in an orange glow that made the night seem closer to day than it truly was. While the time was just half past twelve, you felt it may have been more accurate to say it was closer to four in the morning.

You're exhausted but that true sort of exhaustion where whatever energy you have left buzzes all around. It consumes your entire being, dances between being deafeningly loud in your ears to giving you twitches in your legs. You'd laid down hours ago thinking you'd be tired enough to sleep once your tics started to spasm in closer intervals, but to no avail were you able to rest. That buzzing preventing you from dreamland. Maybe the hum of your body was right, you didn't really need to sleep, you just wanted it to feel normal.

Knowing the battle had already been lost you push yourself off the bed and grab a pair of shorts off the floor. Slipping them on you contemplate your options for the night. Going into town was out since it was Sunday...well Monday now, but there would be nothing but bars open and you were never one for drinking. And as fun as a drive sounds right now, you feel the buzzing in your bones grow stronger, you need to move. A late night hike should keep you occupied, with it being so quiet and the middle of the night you wouldn't even have to take your headphones to cancel out the sounds of other people, you aren't likely to run into many people tonight.

Deciding on a hike you grab a mask and car keys and make your way to your yellow Kia Soul. A going away present from your parents that they gave you the moment you got your driver's license after your 24th birthday. Having anxiety throughout your life you'd never been in the head space to start driving till later on, and while you still don't enjoy driving you are pretty good at it even with your “late” start. Surfing through radio stations as you let the car warm up you find your latest obsession, it's a conspiracy theory podcast that someone in Kepler managed to blast through the limited air ways of the town. Impressive considering Kepler was in a radio quiet zone and even cell phones couldn't work in the small town, luckily you lived just outside of the zone so you could send texts and call your parents every weekend.

It seemed today's episode was a rerun, Mothman: Murderer, Man, or Myth. It was actually one of your favorites, the paranormal stories tended to be more entertaining than hearing about how a man could murder sixteen people while working as a cop ruining evidence to lead the others off his trail. Humans could be more vial and cruel than any little gray alien from the future or tall Fresno Nightcrawler could ever be. And they weren't as entertaining to hear about, nor were their exploits as impressive. You could always see patterns, either connecting clues first or finding connections no one else saw, it was never hard to tell where a certain case would lead so you'd always end up disappointed in humanity when they overlooked such obvious clues. Though that often led you down a path of deep diving for information to see just how obvious it was, more often than not you'd find that the most logical conclusion was shady public officers. After investigating so many cold cases you're sure if you're ever in trouble you'll never involve the police, in the end they'd probably just ignore you and rule your case closed if anything ever did happen to you.

'I'd haunt them if they did.' You decide and you shift gears and begin driving to the Monongahela National Forest, as the timeline of Mothman sightings and events play out before for your ears.

Instead of going through town and possibly loosing the signal of the show, you drive on the old dirt road that runs along the very edge of the town, partially covered in trees. This over grown road is the main reason Kepler doesn't see many visitors, the second someone makes their way onto it coming off the interstate they floor it until they see civilization. Over the few months you've been here you've nearly been run right off the road by spooked tourists, trying to escape whatever ghouls their wild imaginations created. The only real thing on this road was a mini mart gas station, and even though it was shady as hell the cashier didn't bug you too much when you came in in the dead of night. Plus they had a cat, how could you not stop in and say hi to little ole Magnolia?

Speaking of which you should probably get a drink for your hike, you could already feel your throat drying out. Turning into the parking lot you're happy to see no other cars around, putting your face mask on you make your way inside. As usual the store is dead at this time, and Ronnie is manning the desk. What's unusual is the man also behind the counter, he has dark brown hair that he's tied into a small and low ponytail, thick sideburns frame his face. You immediately take note of the slight imperfections of his face, most would see the slit in his eyebrow as following the current trend or even just a genetic thing, but you can see the slightly off color of a healed scar that starts just above his eyebrow and ends mid eyelid, he has a few smaller discolorations on his crooked nose, you'd guess he's had it broken at least twice.

Briefly taking a glance to his brown eyes before looking away, today is not an eye contact day. Nodding in their directions, the best acknowledgment you can give right now, you make your way to the freezers. From the freezer section you can hear Ronnie “explain” you.

“That's YN, a regular mainly at night though. A bit skittish and rarely ever says more than 'thanks have a nice day'” Even though she's whispering you can hear everything. Including the high octave her voice takes to mimic you, it feels more like mocking.

If being mocked hadn't already put you on edge the eyes boring into you have. The eyes may not be roaming over your body but the icky crawling of your skin sure makes it feel that way. The feeling of being put under a microscope has always made you sick, the stares, the leers and sneers, and the judgment just makes you want to implode on the spot. Cease existence, be swallowed into the abyss. You're about to set yourself into an anxiety attack with all these thoughts.

'Mask, mask, mask' you repeat over and over in your head, it's the only thing you can focus on. You are wearing a mask, there is one thing they can't perceive, the face is the most important for humans to perceive, your mask protects you.

Without looking you pull a water bottle from the cooler. You don't think you like this brand but the sports mouth makes up for it, and you can't focus enough to grab another. As the imaginary spiders crawl their way under your skin and your breath hitches you make your way over to the counter head down, never looking up at the employees beyond the counter. Your vision is blurring in time with the beating of your heart, you can't tell if it's due to nerves or from being up for five days in a row.

“Hey YN, how're you?” Ronnie asks, her tone is different from the past times you've been in. It's higher and has a lilt in it that you'd expect from a teasing friend. But Ronnie isn't a friend and has never spoken to you like this, you hate it. You nod to politely move on with the process, between the crawling of your skin and the buzzing underneath it you feel sick. And you're now very aware of the existence of your eyelids, you try to focus on ignoring that awareness. You need to move.

“Hmm, that's good. Anyway this is Tim! He's just started so go easy on him.” you hear the sound of a hand hitting fabric and assume she's patted Tim's shoulder as she introduced Tim to you. Why was she doing this, what purpose could introducing you two have? You nod again, was anyone going to ring you out?

“Hi, this all?” a deep voice asked, it isn't extremely deep more of a standard baritone that has a slight raspy quality, probably a reformed smoker. You don't smell cigarettes currently so he could've quit after years. Unfortunately despite your efforts to stave them off your blinking tics emerge. Making it difficult to keep your eyes open for longer than a nano second.

Startled and ticcing you look up and catch his eyes, you see pity in them, before casting your glance back to the counter. You can never tell what's worse people seeing you as weird or seeing you as something needing to be fixed. Nodding again, Tim tells you the total; a dollar fifty eight, and you hand him two dollars from your wallet.

Tim doesn't ask if you want the receipt or a bag, he prints out the receipt and hands you your change. The change goes immediately into the cat food fund for Magnolia. She got diagnosed with diabetes about a month ago and having worked in shelters and pet stores you know just how expensive her prescription food is. After folding the receipt into your wallet, Tim gently slides the water bottle over to you.

“Have a good night.” he says it so low and gentle, as if he thinks you'll shatter in front of him. As kind as the gesture seems, you aren't that fragile...or maybe you are if you have to keep repeating 'mask' over and over in your head to ground yourself. With a final nod you turn and make your way to the door, and just as you open it you hear Ronnie call out.

“Awwww, c'mon YN at least say 'Hi' to Tim.” You really don't like how she squeaked out 'hi'.

Taking a deep breath you prepare yourself, you'll show them both you can do this simple task. Even if you can't stop blinking long enough to see straight. Once you've steadied yourself you turn and look at Tim. He's sending you a look that says 'You don't have to' all that's missing is a slow head shake to complete his unease with this “peer pressure”.

But you can do this you can say 'Hi, Tim.' Two words super simple, nothing complex like 'Hi, Tim, nice to meet you.' and so much better than the option of your next meeting saying 'Hi, Tim. Sorry for spazzing out the other night.'. Yup you can do this just breathe, you open your mouth and...and you've forgotten what to say. Looking like a deer in headlights, well at least the tics stopped, you say the first thing that pops in.

“Mask.” You've said it loud and clear both cashiers heard you.

Tim stares with wide eyes and you see Ronnie failing to hide her laughter. Out of all the ways this could've gone this was probably the best outcome for her. The blinking has started up again, this time growing more frequent. You can't even hold your eyes open, to the two cashiers it must look like you're in pain or crying. And while you want to die of embarrassment, crying is a bit of an extreme for you.

So with red face and the inability to see you leave through the door, and try to make your way back to your car. Once in you lock the doors, switch the car on, and rest your head on the steering wheel. Out of every way this stop could've gone, being perceived by a new comer and Ronnie was not what you expected. While this hadn't been the worst five minutes or so of your life, it definitely would be another thing keeping you up at night for the next twenty years.

Calming down in the cool quiet dark of your car your slowly brought back to the world by the beginning of a new episode. This one talking about the Tailypo legend. A favorite story of yours from when you were a kid living on the coast of Virginia. So with yet another deep breath and the wave of nostalgia, you pull out of the parking lot and slowly coast down the old dirt road. Heading yet again for the Monongahela forest.

It's nearly two in the morning when you roll up to see an RV parked by the forgotten entrance of the park. It isn't surprising at all to find an RV out here since the Monongahela Forest is one of the most beautiful parks you've ever been to. You also don't think anything of them being parked by this unused entrance because you use it all the time since finding it accidentally. Figuring they just wanted to camp and be left to their own devices rather than use the RV sites and be bothered with other campers here for the summer.

Climbing out of your car you notice the RV isn't new by any means but it isn't a total rust bucket either, looks like it's been passed around throughout the years. There isn't anything to suggest it's been here a while, nothing left set up outside, must have just gotten into town then. You do happen to notice dog tracks around the sandy dirt you've parked in, good to know they have a dog before you slammed your car door. Closing the door gently behind you so you don't startle a pup and wake up it's owner or owners, you make your way through the woods. No real direction in mind, with no real thought in your head. Just the thought of moving and to keep on moving.

You could walk the same path every time you came through and always find something different. In fact that's exactly what happens, you're almost positive that you've deepened the imprint of the path just from walking through several times a week. Following the same winding path you usually do, climbing over the fallen tree, and through a scattering of blueberry thicket's you find yourself on the edge of one of the forest's many streams. It's your favorite spot in the forest so far, and about as far as you've gotten considering these hikes of yours take place during the dead of night.

The wind picks up and sends a chill through you, taking that as a sign you slide down to sit by the stream. Vans placed to your side as you sink your feet into the cool water. It's peaceful out here, so cool, and quiet, save for the slight noises the stream makes, various bubbling and drips. You try to think on things like your recent move, your job, the embarrassing 'mask' incident, just life in general. But you can't seem to form a single thought, this happens a lot, you've recently been conscious of the fact that you've been running on auto pilot for the past two months, hell a lot longer than that. You think everyone must get like this from time to time, but you think you've always been this way. Keen to dissociating and slipping in and out of existence.

It's quite nice really, except for the times like right now where you'd love to figure out why the silence in your head is so painfully loud. The more you think on it the louder it gets and the stronger the buzzing under your skin feels. And right now the static in your mind has been getting louder and louder for the past few minutes. You feel your head jerk to the right of it's own accord, moving back in place it happens for a second time, and then a third, then jerks up, before jerking a forth time to the right effectively cracking you neck.

“There we go.” you mumble, you can relax a bit as the verbal tic indicates the end of this round of tics.

Sighing you look at the sky...that can't be right. The sky has been painted it's fresh baby blues for the day, but again that can't be right. You just got to the stream, that path is a thirty minute walk meaning it should be just about two thirty in the morning, but the sky suggests it's five or six at the latest. Reaching for your water bottle you find it empty next to you. You didn't fall asleep you know that much, perhaps you did dissociate tonight. Well this hike was disappointing if you knew you were going to dissociate you'd have saved yourself that embarrassment and stayed home. Maybe done some painting or tidied up.

Sighing you push yourself off the ground, collecting you vans you're about to put them on when you notice a figure off in the distance. You freeze out of shock and stare at the figure, it stares back. The figure is about ten yards away, god your near sighted ass should really remember to not leave your glasses in the car when hiking. The figure starts to make it's way to you and after a few steps you realize it hasn't moved from it's spot. Rolling your eyes you ignore the hallucination.

You'd really needed to get sleep last night, today is day six of no sleep and though you haven't had many episodes these past few days, you have a feeling they'll start to get more prominent today. Hopefully tonight you can manage to get some rest, the longer you go without sleep the more realistic the hallucinations become. But for today you're content with the knowledge that it's just shadow like beings that you'll be seeing.

After putting on your shoes you start the thirty minute hike back to your car. You're thankful for the weather in Kepler, nothing like back on the coast. Here you can go for a morning hike through the forest while a gentle breeze passes by and the sun starts to give the area a pleasant warmth. Back on the coast you couldn't run and grab the mail without getting drenched in moisture from either sweat, humidity, or a mixture of both.  The coast sucks, hell Virginia sucks altogether, you're glad to be in Kepler.

“I want to go home, home.” you say out of nowhere.

Before you reach the entrance you hear barking, oh the RV campers must be up. Should you be careful not to scare them, or just walk normally and say 'Good morning' in passing, maybe just nod your head in greeting. Oh and you've stopped just beside the entrance as you got lost in your rambling. You didn't mean to come to a stop here, and as you try to move you notice how silent it's gotten. Did the dog go inside, maybe they've already passed...no it's too quiet for that. No the silence is oppressive like the one you deal with nightly, there's a reason for the silence. The situation's making you feel uneasy, but that could be the sleep deprivation talking.

You're about to brush it off and move when you hear a whispered, “Seriously man, I don't think anyone's out there. Let's get inside.”

There's a noise of agreement before you hear shuffling. Oh no, you zoned out and now you look like a weirdo stalker. Just perfect, maybe if you wait around a little more you'll seem more normal or at least feel normal. Not knowing how long to wait you walk along the tree line for a bit, looking at the ground as you do making sure you won't step on any snakes. In you quest to not step on any snakes you spot something suspiciously off white. It seems purposefully buried under a dead blueberry bush and some fallen branches.

Having listened to too many true crime shows, you know better than to implicate yourself in a murder. Grabbing a stick off the ground you gently brush the foliage away from the supposed corpse. No way, you can't believe your luck, it's an actual fucking skull. An intact skull of a deer! That is so cool, you've only seen taxidermists on TikTok getting so lucky and finding these dudes. Since the jaw bone is connected by tissue it of course isn't with the skull but maybe it's close by? Clearly this got planted or hidden by someone, maybe they were planning on pranking a friend by 'uncovering' a skull later. Oh well, finders keepers and all that, you have way better plans for this guy, hopefully you can find that jaw bone.

You set off searching through the foliage and near by bushes with the branch while holding the skull in your other arm. After searching about three feet around and finding no more bones you decide that this is the only part of the deer's skeleton in this area. A little disappointed but still thrilled with your find, you decide it must be a good time to go back to your car.

Surely you won't look weird now. You a little forager with their treasure in hand. Looks like you'll be busy cleaning, then bleaching, and cleaning these bones today. Is that the order to treat found bones? You aren't sure but you can look into that later. Placing the skull in the trunk so it doesn't roll about and get damaged you make sure it's secure before closing the trunk and getting into your car and locking the doors.

Not once did you notice the pairs of eyes that had been watching you. One watching as you found the deer skull, and the other set seeing you place bones into your car. They kept watching as you fiddled with the radio while the car was starting up. They watched as you pulled out of the sandy dirt lot and drove back down the old road a little faster than before now that you could clearly see.

[1plus1kiyoomi]

Chapter 11: If You

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“I want to thank everyone for coming. I know some of you came from other cities, and it’s great to see you come here in Hyogo. Just now, I heard that all of the dogs have been adopted. I couldn’t explain the happiness I feel knowing that these dogs will finally have a safer place to come home to. But this is only the start. Once again, thank you. Please enjoy the rest of the day,” you say in the middle of the little open area of the shelter. Everyone claps so you bow and then start looking around.

“Hey, (Y/N).” Kuroo calls you and you see him holding Rice. “Can I bring your dog home?”

“No. Put him down and let him play with the other dogs,” you scold him. He puts Rice down and the dog runs to where Kenma is. The long haired man is seated at the corner, probably vlogging as well. “Where’s your wife?”

“I don’t know. The last time I saw her was at the airport yesterday. She’s probably with Alisa or something,” he answers you, shrugging nonchalantly. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

“He said he had somewhere important to go to first, but he’ll be here,” you tell him, then continue to interact with other people.

The Red Falcons are around, just like they promised. Suna brought Komori along, and the libero’s reaction to seeing you was priceless. He nearly fainted when you gave him a hug. Osamu catered so he was at the kitchen most of the time. Atsumu was playing around with his teammates, scaring the shit out of Sakusa by randomly holding up a dog to his face. The curly haired man only came because his daughter, Kia, begged him to go in her place. His sole purpose is to take pictures of the dogs for Kia.

An hour passes, people start going home, so you stay nearby the main door to greet them out. As you stand there, you hear a familiar voice, like literally. It’s a family member’s voice.

“Mom? Why are you here?” You ask in shock, forgetting to greet her properly.

Your feelings rages in fire just from seeing her. You and your mother have never been in good terms. She doesn’t see you as a daughter, but rather a competition. Ever since you were born, your father saw you as the most important girl in the world. And she hated that, she hated you. For that, she makes sure to give you a hard time.

“Is that what you say after not seeing your mother for a long time?” She says sternly, so you hesitantly give her a hug. “I came here to see how you are of course. And I wanted to talk to you about something. Sei’s here, too. He’s just looking for a spot to park.”

Your worries rise even more just from hearing your brother’s name. Sei definitely knows about Kita. He knows everything going on in your life without you knowing how. Whenever you come home for holiday, he just scolds you about all your life decisions. He’ll probably tell you off about dating a farmer, too. But compared to your mother, he is a saint. He’s Team (Y/N) all the way despite nagging at you a lot.

“So where’s your farmer boy?” Your brother says as soon as he nears you and your mother.

“He’s busy. You won’t meet him today,” you snap back, rolling your eyes at him.

“So the rumors are true, then?” Your mom hums. “Since he’s busy, when can we meet if we can’t see him today?”

“On our wedding day,” you deadpan and your mother chuckles. She pats your head so you move your head away in irritation. She smirks at you. “What did you do this time?”

“Nothing.” She smiles at you. You look at your brother and he’s eyeing your mother suspiciously as well. If there’s anything you and your brother can agree on, it’s that your mother is evil. “How about we eat dinner tonight? As family.”

“Okay,” you agree, not wanting to start an argument with her.

An hour or two later, Kita still doesn’t show up. You feel disappointed but you won’t get mad at him until you know where and what he really did. As he said, it’s an important matter. It might has something to do with her grandmother.

You leave Rice in Osamu’s care, without forgetting to warn him about not to overfeed the poor dog. Sei, your mother, and you proceed to the city. Since it’s too early for dinner, your mother decides to go shopping. You and Sei feel that something is up with your mother, but you can’t pinpoint what it is yet.

After shopping, the three of you direct to a shabby ramen place at a random street of Osaka, which heightens your doubts about your mother. She would never eat at such place. What exactly is she doing?

The waitress does her usual greeting as you enter, leading you to a table at the end the of hall. The place is packed with teenagers, couples, and just normal people. But making things even weirder, the table beside yours is empty. The waitresses lead coming in customers to another table or make them wait.

“What would you like to order?” The waitress asks you.

“I’ll get your best seller,” your mother answers. You and your brother say yours, then the waitress leaves to prepare your order. “So how’s university?”

“We’ve been together for more than 3 hours, but you’re asking just now?” You cock an eyebrow up and your brother calls you sternly. You sigh before answering your mother, “It’s fine. I’m getting good grades.”

“That’s good to hear. How about the whole vlogging thing?” Your mother continues to ask and you know where this is going.

“Mom, let her do what she wants,” Sei tells your mother before you can remark back.

“Welcome!” The waitresses greet as someone enters the store. Out of boredom, you check who it is and it’s Ayako? A man follows behind her and your heart shatters into millions of pieces then and there.

“Kita...” you mutter under your breath, clutching onto the chopsticks on the table.

Your head goes empty. Your heart drops. Every moment with Kita flashes your mind in one quick second. You know you can never compete with Ayako, but he should have told you. He promised to show up today. No wonder why he wasn’t replying to any of your messages. Because he was with her the whole day.

Ayako’s the important matter.

Did you even matter to Kita?

What do you do now? Do you slap him? Do you shout at him? Your head is clouded in anger. But somehow you still manage to think about your dog. ‘What about Rice? Kita mostly takes care of him. He might miss him.’

Sei notices your sudden change in mood and looks at where your eyes are stuck in. He sees Kita and Ayako walking over to the table just beside yours. He gives your mother a look of disappointment.

“What’s wrong with the two of you?” Your mother asks, eyes blinking innocently.

Kita sees you too, and his eyes widen in shock. He’s not one to be surprised, but this is something he definitely didn’t expect. In his mind, he’s literally shouting and begging for you not to misunderstand the situation. But he thinks it’s too late since the chopsticks your gripping on is already split in half.

Kita’s about to talk to you, but Ayako takes a hold on his wrist, pulling him to sit back down on the chair. Your mother starts laughing at your expression and you finally connect the dots. She orchestrated this whole thing. You should have known sooner. You should have seen it coming. After all, she’s the one who placed in your head that you marry a rich man. She’s the one who desperately wants you to marry into a rich family so she can have more money in her pocket.

“You are the worst mother ever,” you spat before slamming the chopsticks on the table then storming out of the store. Kita stands up from his seat as well, quickly following you out.

“Ayako, dear... I paid you a lot for this. I even bought you a ticket home. So do your job and make sure they break up,” your mother tells Ayako and she hesitantly nods and runs after the two of you.

Sei stands up then scoffs, “You know mother... the devil works hard, but you work way harder.”

“(Y/N)!” Kita calls you, his pace getting quicker as he sees you walk further than him. He finally catches up to you and he grabs your wrist but you shake his hand off.

“If you still love her, I understand. I don’t care anymore if you get back together.  Did you even like me? Because to be honest, I think I love you. Say that it’s too quick for me to tell, and I think that, too, but I really do. And it hurts so much. I wish you did not date me when you still thought of her. Because it makes me wonder, ‘where was I then?’ Where was I the whole time?” You manage to say without your voice cracking, but you feel your cheeks getting wet from the tears coming out of your eyes. When did you even start crying?

“(Y/N). Please let me exp-” Kita starts to speak but you don’t let him finish.

“I’m taking Rice with me. Don’t expect to see us at home.”

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Facts:

ADOPT DON’T SHOP

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[thomotomo]

Kia ora! Could i request a peaky blinders x male reader, where y/n is in a secret relationship with his brother tommy shelby? fluff and hiding from period typical homophobic laws

A/N: Hello dear anon! I hope you will like it! I’m not watching Peaky Blinders so I tried to keep in the universe and in character but I’m pretty sure I messed up a few things lol. Hopefully you will enjoy it nonetheless! Thanks for requesting :3

TW/CW: Incest, Slurs/derogatory terms about gay men, misoginy (ig, well they don’t talk well about women), Mention of period typical homophobia - Read at your own risks

Words: 2.4K

The atmosphere in the room was tense. Some members of the gang had been attacked and it seemed that other rival gangs in Birmingham were pushing their luck, titillating your family into making mistakes.

You weren’t really concentrated on the discussion, rather you observed your brother (and secret lover) who was seated opposite to where you were standing, a whisky in his hand, discussing the serious matter with a frown on his face with your brother, Arthur and your Aunt Polly.

You tried following the flow of the conversation but the soft light reflecting on Tommy’s face was making him way too attractive and his shining eyes were marvellous, you wanted to kiss away the frown on his face, hold him in your arms and proclaim to the world that you loved him.

Sadly, you weren’t able to do so for a numerous of reason, firstly he was your brother, and although wedding between cousins were accepted, people were taking less kindly two children from the same mother to be in love. And secondly well, people of your kind weren’t well liked (not to say absolutely despised), two men lying together was seen as an abomination and you had witnessed a few times boys being beaten for being accused of being a “fag”.

Truth to be told, you hated being unable to be with him, go outside together, not giving a care about anything or anybody but sadly you knew you couldn’t do that. You wanted to stay alive and not cause the downfall of your family’s gang and basically not disgracing them socially, so here you were, trying to listen to the conversation.

“What are your thoughts (Y/N)?”, it was Arthur who spoke up. You tried to stay collected on the outside and completely panicking inside.

“Oh erm. I think we should maybe execute one person, one example to assert our dominance and show them this as a warning and we won’t stay here doing nothing?”, they nodded as you sighed, feeling less stressed now that you answered to them.

You lit up a cigarette and smoked slowly as they discussed about who they will take down, their level in the other gang. And after debating for another ten minutes they settled on kidnapping, Ralph McAllister, a middle-ranked member from the Birmingham Boys you had seen few times in town.

All of you stayed a bit more, discussing other issues until Polly had to leave, kissing all of you on the cheek. Arthur did the same, but leaving with a clasp on the shoulder, not without proposing both of you to meet him tonight at the Garrison Pub, which you agreed to do, he left both of you alone.

You waited until you were sure they were far enough and that nobody would be able to see you, you walked to Tommy, putting your cigarette on the ashtray and took his face in your hands, kissing him softly. He sighed in the kiss and put his free hand on your hip, gently caressing it with his thumb.

“Everything is such a mess. Fucking assholes they think they can try and steal our territory.”, his hand gripped your hip a bit tightly. You caressed his cheeks with your thumbs, looking at him seriously.

“They fucking sucks but we’re going to crush them. Don’t think about them now and relax.”, you felt his grip loosen as he downed the rest of the whiskey and put the glass on the table next to him. He tapped your hip with his fingers, making you move from above him, allowing him to stand up. He gazed at you lovingly and took your hand in his.

“Maybe we should move to the bedroom? There will be no risks of being the caught.”

You nodded and followed him in his bedroom, locking the door behind you as Tommy closed the curtains, just in case. Tommy then went to his seat and you joined him, sitting on his lap, his hand directly went to your check. You leaned in it, smiling at him. You enjoyed those quiet moments with him where you could do anything without any care in the world.

He peppered your cheeks with kisses, attempting to kiss all of your freckles, making you laugh lowly. Tommy then looked at you with a gentle smile and finally kissed you on the lips; you deepened it, adding a bit of tongue to the kiss. Tommy’s free hand went around your waist, smiling in the kiss and after a few more seconds of kissing he moved his mouth to your jaw, then your neck, letting you breath as he lightly bit your neck, avoiding leaving any marks.

He stopped after a while, breathing a bit strongly, putting his head on your shoulder, both of his arms now wrapping your waist. You stroked his hair, smiling softly and shuddering as his hot breath hit your neck.

“We’ll have to meet with Arthur later…”, you regretfully said.

“Yeah… But don’t think about that love. Now we’re having a moment together.”

You smiled at him and yelped when he stood up and suddenly put his hands under your thighs. He chuckled at the sound as by reflex you wrapped your legs around his waist. He walked you to his bed and put you on it, coming to lie next to you. He brought you in his arms, cuddling you and kissing your forehead. Both of you chilled there for a while in silence, bathing in each other’s love.

After a while lying on the comfortable, cuddling and sometimes talking, you decided that even though you really wanted to stay with him you had to be “productive” and go and take care of the horses to avoid raising suspicions.

You regretfully left Tommy’s arms, kissing him gently as he stood up too, to go and plan the disappearance of McAllister. You unlocked the door and kissed him once last time before making your way to your room, changing your clothes and then went to the stables. You started by putting the horses in the field made for them and cleaned all the stalls. It was an unusual job for the son of a wealthy family but considering your family was a gang  it didn’t really matter, at least you were someone to be trusted with the horses.

You really enjoyed taking care of the horses, even though sometimes it was it was very demanding job and the horses weren’t always in the best of the moods but it was an entertaining job, and you really loved the feeling of seeing the horses happy, clean and healthy and you were sweaty and not looking at all like a man of your rank.

Once all the cleaning and filling the food tanks of the horses you brought them one by one back in their stable. You stayed a bit longer with Ludy, a Shire horse that you considered yours instead of the family’s, patting him and giving him a little treat before leaving to take a shower as it was almost time for you to go and meet Arthur.

You put some clean clothes and waited for Tommy to come down, you were almost wondering if he had forgotten about it, knowing how he could be whenever he started to work, but before you could even try to walk back upstairs he arrived and shoot you a wink with a smile.

“You look great brother.”

“Same about you Tommy. You’re going to pick up some lass at the bar?”

“Maybe, we’ll see..”, he licked his lips as he checked you out. You saw the maid behind him, having some sheets in her arms.

You walked outside the mansion and met with the driver. Both of you went in the back and discussed about random things until you arrived at the bar. You stepped out and told the driver he wouldn’t have to go and come search you.

You readjusted your coat and walked inside The Garrison with Tommy right behind you, it was filled with quite the people. The pair of you looked around until you found Arthur in a corner drinking some whisky while flirting with the waitress.

You went and joined him as the waitress left and sat next to him with a smile.

“So, in what honour are we drinking tonight?”

“To the future death of that Birmingham motherfucker and to the calm that will be back right after.”

You all laughed at that and nodded in agreement, the asshole will soon be 6 feet under and all the gangs will either prepare or run away like the rats they were. Tommy ordered a round of drinks and you talked together, sometimes looking at the girls in the pub. Suddenly Arthur whistled.

“Tommy, the blonde lass over there had been watching you for a good while, y’should talk to her, bet she’d like your dick. You should go to talk to her.”

“Wait”, you intervened, “You should wait a bit more, like making her desire you even more so she like jump on you when you come at her. She seems kind of an easy one.”

“(Y/N) is right, she seems kind of an easy one. Give it 5 minutes Tommy boy and then you can get that bitch.”, all of you laughed at that, but in the back of your mind you didn’t want her to touch him. You desperately wished you could claim him in front of everyone, but life wasn’t fair sadly and unless you wanted to die well you could only do so much.

When the five minutes passed Tommy went to the blonde with a predatory grin, saying to both of you. “Take note gentlemen, this is how you woo ladies.”

Both of you laughed and you moved a bit, taking a drink from your glass, observing how he walked to the girl and nearly immediately kissed her neck, probably whispering some sentences to get her. You felt the atmosphere less joyous as you older brother was also observing the scene. There was never bad blood between the two of you but it was clearly not the same kind of love between you and Arthur than you and Tommy (damn right, Arthur was so constipated with his feelings you could easily think he hated you).

“You’re not a fag right?”, you tensed as he asked that. He wasn’t looking at you, but surely from the corner of his eyes he was observing your reaction. You tried not to look uncomfortable and laughed as if he told you a joke.

“Me a fairy? Really? Nah those past weeks Ludy doesn’t looks pretty well so I’m trying to see if anything is wrong with him. And with the mating seasons nearing all the horses are on the edge so I’d like to avoid some of them to get knocked up you know.”, you didn’t like using Ludy for an escape but you didn’t saw any other choices there. Arthur hummed and took a sip of his drink.

“Because I wouldn’t want people to find out my brother’s a sissy. I wouldn’t like to know you’re a sissy. Because if you are…”, he looked at you with a weird glint in his eyes and you were pretty sure that if he knew you were an homosexual there wouldn’t be any blood bond between you anymore and he would murder you. You repressed a shudder and smirked.

“Nah don’t worry about that. I’m just occupied and worried about the horse’s health. But don’t worry next time we go out I’ll pick a cute lass, probably a redhead y’know?”, he laughed and downed the rest of his drink in one go.

“Yeah you always got the weirdest tastes brother.”

You looked back at Tommy who was still flirting with the girl and in a blink of an eye she disappeared, you knew where she went and your brother who probably followed her confirmed your suspicions. After all he always was better at hiding his feelings and acting too and you envied him for that. The thought of sex with any woman was repulsing you and even though you were able to go though it all with prostitutes or random women in bars, you wanted to throw up after every time.

“Oooh little Tommy is getting his fair share of fun with the little blondie. I wonder if she’s a screamer or not.”

“I’m betting she’s more like a squeaky mouse.”

“We’ll see when pretty boy is back!”

The two of you stayed here, discussing and you occasionally threw a lustful gaze to the women in the pub trying to make Arthur think you were watching them while he was flirting with some waitress, sometimes giving them a clap on their ass. You had the time to take another drink until Tommy came back, putting his pants back in place.

Arthur laughed and clapped, attracting a bit of attention that was quickly diverted when you threw them dark looks. Tommy sat back with a smirk and Arthur clapped his shoulder.

“C’mon Tom, how was she? Loud or not?”

“She wasn’t making much noises, but she was tight as fuck.”

“I was right then!”, you hit your older brother on the shoulder with a laugh.

“Tsk for once boy, for once.”

You kept bantering until Arthur decided it was time for him to go back home. You followed him outside and kept discussing for a short moment, observing the surroundings with a distrustful look on your face, after all night was always the best moment to murder people and you wanted to avoid that. You watched as Arthur left and then both you and Thomas started to walk in the opposite direction.

The streets weren’t quiet, from the drunk lads trying to walk to the fights, it was clear it was animated almost as much as during broad daylight. As you turned in a dark and seemingly completely empty street. You pulled Thomas with you and put him against the wall, immediately covering his lips with yours.

He was shocked for an instant and then relaxed in your grasp, kissing you back. After a few seconds of kiss, you stopped pressing him on the wall and licked your lips while looking at him with a spark in your eyes.

“You fucking- You could have waited for us to be more away!”, Tommy whispered with a disbelieved smile on his face.

“I couldn’t wait to kiss this bitch away from you. But don’t worry I’ll finish that somewhere else.”, this time you were the one leaving him hanging as you walked away, hearing his quick steps to join you.

Hopefully for you the maid wouldn’t be home by the time you’d be back or you’d have to keep him extra quiet.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed the story! Don’t forget to like, reblog and comment if you did and you can leave me a tip on KOFI if you want! Take care <3